^  if! 


t  Hi 


m 
m 


mm 
ill 
I 

feu 


pi- 

1 
■PI 

••] 

jm'l 

ili 

-''! 

iifi 

£ 

il  i  il'Sl 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


TIEHIE 


CHRISTIAN   SABBATH 


OIEe 


WEEI^LY     I^BST     DAY^ 


By  ^Idef  Coluir\tu^  0dott. 


LAMONI,  IOWA: 

PRINTED    AND    PUBLISHED   BY   THE   REORGANIZED   CHURCH   OF 

JESUS  CHRIST    OP    LATTER   DAY   SAINTS. 


/<?97. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Consrress,  on  the  11th  day 
of  December.  1891, 

By  the  Reorganized  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of 

Latter  Day  Saints, 

In  the  Copyright  Ulrice  of  Librarian  of  Congress, 
Washington,  D.  C. 


11  r  f'f\V(^\{0\  '\    I  ihUAR'Y 


PREFACE.  /nt^^^^l 


The  subject  of  this  little  treatise  has  been  one  of 
much  controversy  at  different  periods  since  the  open- 
ing of  the  Christian  era,  and  is  now  the  issue  usually 
grow'ng  out  of  an  attempt  of  heretical  zealots  to 
introduce  into  the  Christian  system  of  worship  the 
ob5er\ance  of  the  seventh-day  Sabbath,  as  under  the 
Israelitish  commonwealth. 

We  have  tried  to  avoid,  in  this  effort,  the  incon- 
sistency of  admitting  as  binding  in  letter  and  spirit, 
under  the  gospel,  nine  of  the  ten  commandments,  and 
rejecting  one — the  fourth  —  by  allowing  them,  as  they 
related  to  the  law,  as  originally  intended  of  God, 
to  be  of  force  as  a  whole  with  Israel  till  Christ  came, 
since  when  their  spirit  and  force  is  found  in  the  law 
of  all  good  government,  where  their  penalties  are  now 
affixed  and  executed.  An  endeavor  has  also  been 
made  to  develop  the  superior  excellence  and  perfec- 
tion of  the  gospel  over  the  law  as  our  religious  rule 
of  life  and  "the  power  of  God  unto  salvation." 

Since     the    created     universe    makes     known     to 

men  the  "eternal  power  and  Godhead"  of  "the  Father 

3 


IV.  '  PKEFACE.  ' 

of  lights,"  leaving  them  ''without  excuse,"  (Rom. 
1:  20),  and  as  a  seventh-day  Sabbath  memorialized  the 
servitude  of  Israel  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  their 
most  wonderful  deliverance  therefrom  by  the  out- 
stretched, mighty,  and  glorious  arm  of  Jehovah,  also 
their  formal  adoption  into  the  inheritance  of  God. 
(Deut.  5:  15;  Ex.  19:  5,  6),  what  could  more  appropri- 
ately invite  the  attention  of  the  world  of  mankind, 
held  in  the  servitude  of  sin  and  death  and  longing  for 
deliverance  therefrom,  and  memorialize  that  grand- 
est of  miracles  centering  in  the  person  and  history  of 
Jesus  Christ,  viz.,  his  resurrection  as  the  crowning 
act  and  seal  of  his  victory  after  his  contest  with 
''death  and  hell"  (and  without  which  the  world  was 
absolutely  without  hope), — aye,  what  could  more  surely 
invite  the  attention  of  the  world  to  their  Redeemer 
than  the  solemn  celebration  of  his  Messiahship  on  the 
day  of  his  resurrection — "the  Lord's  day,"  "the  first 
of  the  week"? 

"Paul,  an  apostle  of  Jesus  Christ,  by  the  will  of 
God,"  who  learned  the  gospel  only  by  the  revelation 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  on  whom  was  placed  the  respon- 
sibility "of  caring  for  all  the  churches  for  a  season," 
celebrated  the  Lord's  supper  on  the  Lord's  day,  and 
gave  "order  to  the  churches  of  Galatia"  and  Corinth 
to  place  their  collections  for  religious  purposes  in  the 
treasury  "on  the  first  day  of   the  week' — "the  Lord's 


PREFACE.  V. 

day."  Surely  this  "order"  was  in  harmony  with  the 
gospel  revealed  to  him  by  Christ,  else  this  far-reach- 
ing ''order"  among  the  churches  is  unaccountable 
consistently  with   any   principle  of  his   divine   calling. 

We  have  tried  to  give  duo  credit  to  all  authori- 
ties  referred   to. 

With  this  brief  reference  to  some  of  the  lead- 
ing thoughts  and  facts  treated  of,  and  with  an  humble 
trust  that  the  cause  of  truth  shall  have  been  con- 
served to  some  degree  by  the  effort,  and  craving 
charity  toward  its  unintentional  defects,  we  submit 
it  to  the  reader. 

Respectfully, 

The  Writer. 


CONTENTS. 


Pages. 

CHAPTER   I. 

Two  Systems  of  Divine  Law 1-4 

CHAPTER   II. 

The  Two  Systems  of  Worship 5-6 

CHAPTER  in. 
The  Weekly  Sabbath,  or  Rest  Day,  under  the  Law 7-24 

CHAPTER   IV. 

The  Eden  Idea  of  the  Sabbath  Institution  Examined . .     25-32 

CHAPTER   V. 

Abrogation  of  the  Law '. 33-38 

CHAPTER   VI. 

The  First  Covenant  was  Faulty 39-54 

CHAPTER    VII. 

The  Weekly  Sabbath 55-61 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Covenant — The  Ten  Commandments 62-74 

CHAPTER   IX. 

The  Weekly  Rest  Day  tfnder  the  Gospel '7^-90 

CHAPTER  X. 

"The  Lord's  Day"— The  First  Day  of  the  Week 91-95 

7" 


viii.  CONTENTS. 

Pages. 

CHAPTER    XI. 

HistoriVal  Identity  of  "The  First  Day"  with  "The  Lord's 

Day." 96-107 

CHAPTER    XII. 

Did   not   Oriprinate   with  Roman   Bishops.      First  Day 

and  Lord's  Day  Identical 108-117 

CHAPTER   XIII 

Did  the  Pope  Change  the  Sabbath '^ 118-123 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

"The  Apostolical  Constitutions". 124-133 

CHAPTER    XV. 

The  Original  Words 134-139 


.^' 


1.*^.ioy 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH; 

OR  WEEKLY  REST  DAY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

TWO  SYSTEMS  OF  DIVINE  LAW. 

By  the  records  given  of  God  to  the  human  race,  since 
the  creation,  it  is  apparent  that  law  and  order  was  de- 
signed of  him,  to  characterize  the  lives  and  motives  and 
actions  of  the  human  family,  in  their  relations  to  him 
and  to  each  other.  Hence  we  find  by  looking  into  the 
records  given,  that  he  has  been  pleased  to  reveal  two 
systems  of  law,  both  general  and  specific  in  their  char- 
acter, in  different  eras  of  the  world;  the  object  of  these 
laws  being,  if  lived  up  to,  the  formation  of  governments 
in  order  to  the  development  and  well-being  of  man,  tem- 
porally and  spiritually,  to  exalt  them  in  the  scale  of 
their  being  to  the  highest  possible  good. 

In  the  Bible  these  tv/o  systems  of  law,  from  their  na- 
ture and  intention,  are  called  "the  two  covenants"  a, 
*^the  law  of  God"  6,  and  ''the  gospel  of  God" — of  Christ 
c.  Both  are  designed  to  bring  about  an  agreement  be- 
tween God  and  his  people,  and  both  having  been  given 
to  the  Jews  during  their  national  existence,  Moses  hav- 
ing been  sent  to  deliver  them  from  ^e  bondage  of  Egypt, 
he,  the  ordained  mediator  of  the  one,  and  Christ  Jesus, 
afterward  sent,  the  teacher,  high  priest  and  mediator  of 
the  other.     They  are,  in  the  record,   by  contrast,  called 

a  Gal.  4:24.        6Neh.  10:28.        c  Rom.  1:1, 16. 


2  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

the  ^^Jirst,''  and  the  '^second"  '^covenants"  cZ.  Also,  the 
*'law  of  Moses" e,  and  ''the  gospel  of  Christ,"  or,  ''of 
Jesus  Christ"/.  Out  of  these  two  systems  of  laws,  in 
their  operations  and  application  among  men,  grew  two 
governments  —  organized  kingdoms  —  one  called  "the 
kingdom  of  Israel,"  because  it  pertained  to  the  children 
of  Israel  only  g;  the  other  "the  kingdom  of  God"  A,  i, 
"of  his  dear  Son,"  "the  body  of  Christ"  A;,  "the  house- 
hold of  God"  L 

The  contrast  between  the  law  and  the  gospel  reveals 
its  completeness  when  we  come  to  consider  the  fact  that 
the  law,  in  its  provisions,  when  given  to  Israel  at  Sinai, 
was  temporal — designed  to  serve  for  a  time  only — and 
then  to  be  superseded  by  the  gospel  of  Christ,  which,  in 
its  nature,  is  eternal.  The  blessings  flowing  out  of  obe- 
dience to  the  law,  or  "first  covenant,"  were  all  to  be 
realized  in  this  life^  and  pertained  to  this  life  only.  Like- 
wise the  penalties  to  follow  its  violation  were  to  be  vis- 
ited on  the  transgressors  in  this  mortal  state  of  exist- 
ence, during  the  time  of  its  designed  duration.  "Honor 
thy  father  and  thy  mother:  that  thy  days  may  be  long 
upon  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee"  a. 
Also,  in  the  enactments  growing  out  of  the  decalogue, 
or  constitution  of  the  government  of  Israel,  the  Lord 
renews  the  conditional  promise  of  long  life.  Conditional? 
Provided  they  rested  the  seventh  day,  kept  the  feasts  of 
the  Lord,  and  served  no  other  gods,  God  would  "take 
sickness  away  from"  them,  and  the  number  of  their  days 
would  he  fulfill  h.  On  the  other  hand  the  punishment  of 
the  transgressor  of  the  law  was  inflicted  by  the  hands  of 
its  administrators,  ^in  the  case  of  the  Sabbath  breaker: 
"And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses,  The  man  shall  be  sure- 

d  Heb.  10:9,  16.       e  Mai.  4:4.       /Mark  1:1.       g  1  Kings  9:5.     Acts  1:6. 

h  Luke  4:43.        i  Col.  1:13.        h  1  Cor.  12:27.         I  Eph.  2;  19. 

aEx.  20:12.        6  Ex.  23:25,  26. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  3 

ly  put  to  death,  all  the  congregation  shall  stone  him 
with  stones,  without  the  camp"c.  Thus  it  was  with  the 
individual  transgressions,  but  when  the  nation  as  such, 
violated  the  law,  G-od,  whose  law  they  had  covenanted 
to  keep,  vindicated  the  law  by  national  calamities; 
plagues,  famines,  unsuccessful  wars,  and  death  and  cap- 
tivity. We  need  but  to  carefully  read  the  olessings  for 
obedience,  and  the  curses  for  disobedience,  to  be  entirely 
satisfied  on  this  matter  d.  And  when  the  Israelitish 
economy  was  brought  to  a  close,  and  the  law  was  abro- 
gated according  to  God's  design  concerning  it,  Holy 
Writ  informs  us  that,  ''every  transgression  and  disobe- 
dience received  a  just  recompense  of  reward"  e. 

On  the  other  hand  the  gospel,  G-od's  plan  of  eternal 
salvation,  has  for  its  basis  the  principles  of  the  doctrine 
of  Christ,  of  the  oracles  of  God/,  being  spiritual  and 
eternal  in  their  nature,  and  the  laws  based  upon  them 
constituting  the  gospel  system  are  perfect,  and  hence 
we  read,  "The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect,  convertiDg 
the  soul"  g^  and,  ''whosoever  looketh  into  the  perfect  law 
of  liberty^  and  continueth  therein,  he  being  not  a  forget- 
ful hearer,  but  a  doer  of  the  work,  this  man  shall  be 
blessed  in  his  deed"  h. 

The  blessings  that  follow  the  faithful  obedience  of  the 
children  of  men,  to  the  gospel,  relate  not  to  this  life 
only,  but  also  to  the  eternal  ages  to  come.  The  law 
could  not  give  eternal  life:  "Is  the  law  then  against  the 
promise  of  God?  God  forbid;  for  if  there  had  been  a  law 
given  which  could  have  given  life^  verily  righteousness 
should  have  been  by  the  law"  i.  "I  do  not  frustrate  the 
grace  of  God:  for  if  righteousness  come  hy  the  law,  then 
Christ  is  dead  in  vain"^.  Also  the  violations  of  the  gos- 
pel by  man  are  reserved  to  the  life  to  come  to  be  visited 

c  Num.  li:  85.      d  Deut.  chapter  28.      e  Heb.  2:  2.     /Heb.  5:12  and  6:  2.. 
g  Ps.  19:  7.        h  Jas.  1:  25.       i  Gal.  3:  24      j  Gal.  2:  21. 


4  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

upon  the  transgressors.  Jesus  says:  *'He  that  reject- 
eth  me,  and  receiveth  not  my  words,  hath  one  that  judg- 
eth  him:  the  word  that  I  have  spoken^  the  same  shall  judge 
him  in  the  last  day"  k. 

The  law  could  kill^  but  could  not  forgive — ''take  away 
sin"  I — and  therefore  it  is  called  "the  letter;"  *'for  the 
letter  killeth;"  "the  ministration  of  death,  written  and 
engraven  in  stones"  m;  while  the  "law  of  Christ,"  the 
gospel,  is  designated  "the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus,"  that  liberates  "from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death"  n.  Thus  does  inspiration  array  in  contrast  the 
two  systems  of  law  given  to  govern  the  race,  in  their  re- 
lation to  God  and  each  other;  the  object  of  the  law  being 
to  instruct,  educate  and  civilize  in  this  world,  the  other 
to  regenerate,  moralize  and  prepare  us  for  the  special 
blessings  of  God  in  this  life,  and  adapt  us  to  the  joys, 
honors  and  glories  of  the  redeemed  in  the  ages  to  come: 
"Wherefore  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us 
unto  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  faith.  But 
after  that  faith  (the  faith  revealed  through  Christ)  is 
come,  we  are  no  longer  under  a  schoolmaster     o. 

fc  John  12:  48.        i  Heb.  10:  4.        m  2  Cor.  3:  6,  7.        nRom.  8:1,  2. 
oGal.  3:24,25. 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  TWO  SYSTEMS  OF  WORSHIP. 

Under  the  two  systems  of  law  revealed  of  God,  two 
separate  and  distinct  orders  of  worship  were  established. 
Under  each,  men  were  required  to  acknowledge  and  ren- 
der homage  to  our  heavenly  Father.  The  order  of  serv- 
ice in  both  laws  is  specifically  set  forth.  The  first  cove- 
nant was  made  with  the  children  of  Abraham  only;  they 
alone  were  to  be  partakers  of  its  privileges  and  blessings. 
Moses  said  to  Israel:  ''For  what  nation  is  there  so  great, 
who  hath  Grod  so  nigh  unto  them,  as  the  Lord  our  God 
is  in  all  things  that  we  call  upon  him  for?  And  what 
nation  is  there  so  great,  that  hath  statutes  and  judg- 
ments so  righteous  as  all  this  law  which  I  set  before  you 
this  day"  p.  "He  showeth  his  word  unto  Jacob,  his 
statutes  and  his  judgments  unto  Israel.  He  hath  not 
dealt  so  with  any  nation;  as  for  his  judgments,  they  have 
not  known  them.  Praise  ye  the  Lord"  q.  "For  when 
the  Gentiles,  which  have  not  the  law,  do  by  nature  the 
things  contained  in  the  law,  these,  having  not  the  law, 
are  a  law  unto  themselves"  r.  Not  thus  was  the  gospel 
to  be  circumscribed  to  any  one  nation  or  family,  but  was 
to  be  "good  tidings  of  great  joy  unto  all  people"  s.  The 
gospel  of  God's  grace,  and  "repentance  and  remission  of 
sins,"  for  the  obedience  of  faith  should  be  proclaimed 
among  all  nations  t:  "Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and 
of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost;   teaching  them  to 

p  Deut.  4:  7,  8.        q  Ps.  147:  19,  20.        r  Rom.  2:  14.        s  Luke  2:  10. 
t  Luke  24:  47. 


6  TilE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you; 
and  lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world"  u. 

The  worship  under  the  first  covenant  was  typical  in 
its  nature,  and  but  the  shadowy  reflections  of  a  better, 
a  spiritual,  an^enduring  and  more  substantial  order  of 
worship  to  be  afterward  presented  to  Israel  and  the 
world,  and  established.  It  was  limited,  as  we  have  seen, 
to  Israel,  both  in  its  duration  and  in  its  location.  Of  the 
locality  where  this  first  covenant  was  .to  be  kept,  also  of 
its  rewards,  Moses,  its  ''mediator,"  said:  "Know  there- 
fore this  day,  and  consider  in  thine  heart,  that  the  Lord 
he  is  God  in  heaven  above,  and  upon  the  earth  beneath: 
there  is  none  else.  Thou  shalt  keep  therefore  his  stat- 
utes, and  Ills  commandments^  which  I  command  thee  this 
day,  that  it  may  go  well  with  thee,  ayid  with  thy  cliildren 
after  thee^  and  that  thou  mayest  prolong  thy  days  upon 
the  earth,  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee  v:  And 
because  he  loved  thy  fathers,  therefore  he  chose  their 
seed  after  them,  and  brought  thee  out  in  his  sight  with 
his  mighty  power  out  of  Egypt;  to  drive  out  nations 
from  before  thee  greater  and  mightier  than  thou  art,  to 
bring  thee  in,  to  give  thee  their  land  for  an  inheritance, 
as  it  is  this  day^^  w.  "In  the  land"  which  God  gave  to  Is- 
rael —  the  land  of  Canaan  —  was  where  the  law  was 
designed  of  God  to  be  kept  inviolate  x. 

u  Matt.  2S:  19,  2J.       v  Deut.  4:  39,  40.      w  Deut.  4:  37,  38.      x  Ex.  20;  12. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  WEEKLY  SABBATH,  OR  REST  DAY, 
UNDER  THE  LAW. 

It  has  seemed  wise  in  God,  in  the  establishment  of  his 
worship,  mider  the  laws  given,  to  institute  a  weekly  rest 
— of  worship  and  devotion— one  day  out  of  each  week  of 
seven  days,  that  his  children  may  rest  from  the  arduous 
duties  of  life,  and  have  in  special  remembrance  the  Giver 
of  life,  and  offer  up  thankful  reverential  praise  and  devo- 
tion for  all  his  loving  kindnesses,  mercies  and  blessings. 
This  day  of  rest  once  a  week  is  only  one  of  a  series  of 
requirements  to  be  observed,  whether  under  the  law  or 
under  the  gospel.  By  the  law  the  seventh  day  of  the 
week,  usually  called  Saturday,  was  designated  as  the 
weekly  rest  day  y.  But  since  the  introduction  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  establishment  of  the  "bet- 
ter covenant,  which  was  established  upon  better  prom- 
ises" Zj  a  division  of  opinion  has  existed  among  the 
worshipers  of  God  as  to  which  is  the  proper  and  divinely 
accepted  day  of  the  week  to  observe,  the  seventh  or  the 
first  day  —  Sunday.  A  large  majority  of  Christians, 
holding  the  belief  that  Sunday  is  the  proper  weekly  rest 
day,  have  sincerely  observed  it  as  a  day  of  worship, 
believing,  of  course,  that  the  "covenant"  in  which  the 
requirement  to  observe  the  seventh,  day  was  embodied 
was  taken  away  in  Christ,  "that  he  may  establish  the 
second"  covenant  a,  and  because  it  is  a  notable  fact  that 
there  is  no  enactment  of  God  in,  or  under,  the  new  covenant 

y  Ex.  20:10.        ^Heb.  8:7.        ttHeb.  10:9. 


8  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

that  requires  the  observance  of  the  seventh  day  as  a  day  of 
rest  and  worship.  Now  it  is  a  principle  in  law,  both 
human  and  divine,  that  no  two  or  more  distinct  and  dif- 
fering wills,  on  any  subject,  or  estate,  by  any  one  testa- 
tor, is  binding  or  valid  at  one  and  the  same  time:  ''Then, 
said  he,  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  O  God.  He  taketh 
away  the  first,  that  he  may  establish  the  second. "  Thus 
the  Apostle  Paul  teaches  in  writing  to  the  Hebrew 
Saints,  on  this  very  principle  of  the  validity  of  wills,  and 
shows  that  God  recognized  this  principle,  and  acted  upon 
it,  in  the  establishment  of  the  gospel. 

It  will  now  be  very  essential  for  us  to  inquire  minutely 
as  to  what  the  covenant  which  God  made  with  Israel  at 
Sinai  consisted  of,  for  it  is  just  on  this  point  almost 
entirely,  that  the  division  of  opinion  is  based  in  regard 
to  which  is  the  right  day  to  observe  as  the  Sabbath,  the 
seventh  or  the  first  day  of  the  week.  By  the  advocates 
of  the  seventh-day  Sabbath,  the  unity  of  the  law  or  cove- 
nant given  to  Israel  at  Sinai  is  denied.  It  is  assumed  by 
them  that  the  covenant  made  with  Israel,  and  written 
in  the  book  of  the  law,  did  not  include  the  ten  command- 
ments, and  that  they  were  not  a  part  of  the  first  covenant, 
or  will,  that  was  taken  away  by  Christ,  that  he  might 
*  'establish  the  second. " 

But  we  now  ask:  Are  the  ten  commandments,  as  form- 
ulated at  Sinai,  anywhere  incorporated  into  the  new  cove- 
nant as  a  part  thereof?  We  have  failed,  so  far,  to  find 
it  so  recorded  in  the  Christian  covenant. 

It  is  also  asserted  that  the  decalogue  is  the  moral  law 
of  God,  is  the  immutable  law,  and  therefore  it  cannot  be 
annulled,  changed  or  superseded  by  another.  That  this 
idea  is  an  assumption,  and  wholly  without  proof,  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  God,  nor  any  man  inspired  of 
God  that  we  have  any  record  of  in  the  Bible,  ever  applied 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  9 

the  words  moral  or  immutable^  or  their  equivalents,  to 
the  law  Oi!  the  ten  commandments. 

Separate  all  the  rest  of  the  law  given  to  Israel  from 
the  decalogue,  and  let  it  stand  all  alone,  absolutely  so, 
as  recorded  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  Exodus,  and  then 
carefully  consider  it  for  awhile,  and  the  following  points 
plainly  appear: 

1.  The  ten  commandments  do  not  positively  enjoin  the 
worship  of  God  nor  point  out  any  mode  of  divine  wor- 
ship, but  teach  that  the  man  who  strictly  abstains  from 
idolatry,  whether  he  worships  or  not,  keeps  the  first  two 
commandments.  Jesus  did  not  quote  from  the  decalogue 
when  he  said  to  the  devil:  ^'For  it  is  written,  Thou  shalt 
worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shalt  thou 
serve"  h. 

2.  Not  to  use  the  name  of  God  when  swearing  to  that 
which  was  false,  was  keeping  the  third  commandment — 
*'And  ye  shall  not  swear  by  my  name  falsely,"  is  Moses' 
comment  on  this  command  c.  And,  in  the  new  covenant, 
Jesus  instituted  the  following  to  take  its  place.  *'But  I 
say  unto  you.  Swear  not  at  all;  neither  by  heaven;  for  it 
it  is  God's  throne;  neither  by  the  earth;  for  it  is  his 
footstool;  neither  by  Jerusalem;  for  it  is  the  city  of  the 
great  King.  Neither  shalt  thou  swear  by  thy  head, 
because  thou  canst  not  make  one  hair  white  or  black. 
But  let  your  communication  be.  Yea,  yea,  Nay,  nay;  for 
whatsoever  t's  more  than  these  cometh  ofeviV^  d.  Now,  in  the 
light  of  all  the  provisions  of  this  enactment  of  Jesus 
Christ,  what  is  the  use  of  the  third  commandment  of  the 
decalogue?  Does  it  serve  any  practical  purpose  to  the 
follower  of  Christ? 

3.  The  man  who  quietly  stayed  in  his  tent  or  house, 
and  did  no  work  on  the  seventh  day  of  the  week,  and 
with  his  family,  servants  and  beasts,    rested  from  all 

h  Matt.  4:  10.        c  Lev.  19: 12.        d  Matt  5:  34-37. 


10  THE  CIllUSTiAN  SABBATH. 

labor,  kept  the  fourth  commandment,  according  to  the 
letter  of  it,  whether  engaged  in  any  manner  of  worship 
or  not,  so  far  as  anything  we  may  learn  from  the  deca- 
logue in  the  abstract,  is  concerned.  Any  man  can  do 
that  in  a  nominal  sense,  and  not  be  particularly  religious 
either.     Just  keep  the  seventh  day  holy! 

4.  The  other  six  commandments  relate  wholly  to  the 
obligations  of  the  various  classes  of  society  to  each  other, 
including  those  of  the  family  and  neighborhood,  and 
were  not  exclusively  peculiar  to  the  Jews,  for  such  con- 
ditions as  are  there  enjoined  have  ever  characterized  the 
more  refined  and  better  regulated  states  of  society, 
anciently  in  Ethiopia,  Egypt,  Chaldea,  Greece  and 
Rome,  as  well  as  in  mediaeval  and  modern  times,  as 
attested  by  the  history  of  those  countries.  On  this 
point  Paul  said,  '^For  when  the  G-entiles,  which  have  not 
the  law,  do  hy  nature  the  things  contained  in  the  law, 
these,  having  not  the  law,  are  a  law  unto  themselves; 
which  shew  the  work  of  the  law  written  in  their  hearts, 
their  conscience  also  bearing  witness,  and  their  thoughts 
the  meanwhile  accusing  or  else  excusing  one  another"  e. 
What  law  does  the  apostle  here  refer  to?  Let  him 
answer:  "Behold  thou  art  called  a  Jew,  and  restest  in  the 
LAW,  and  maketh  thy  boast  of  God,  and  knowest  his 
WILL,  and  approvest  the  things  that  are  more  excellent, 
being  instructed  out  of  the  law;  .  .  .  thou  that  preach- 
est  a  man  should  not  steal,  dost  thou  steal?  Thou  that 
sayest  a  man  should  not  commit  adultery,  dost  thou  com- 
mit adultery?  thou  that  abhorrest  idols,  dost  thou  com- 
mit sacrilege?"  /.  By  the  language  of  this  text  we  learn 
that  "the  law,"  the  works  of  which  many  of  the  Gen- 
tiles did,  though  having  not  the  law,  was  the  decalogue. 
Moreover  we  learn  by  this  language  of  inspiration  that 

e  Rom.  2:14,  15.       /  Rom.  2:  17-22. 


THE  CHIUSTIAN  SADl^ATil.  It 

this  law  of  the  ten  commandments  was  a  part  of  that 
'-^first  covenant^''  or  "will"  that  Paul  refers  to  when  he- 
says,  "Then  said  he,  Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  O  God. 
He  taketh  away  the  first  [will]  that  he  may  establish  the 
second"  g. 

5.  The  principle  incorporated  into  the  second  com- 
mandment, viz.,  God  "visiting  the  iniquities  of  the 
fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the  third  and  fourth  gen- 
eration," is  inconsistent  with  the  doctrine  of  the  personal 
responsibility  of  each  individual,  as  viewed  in  the  light 
of  "the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life,  in  Christ  Jesus,"  to- 
whom  coming,  as  unto  a  light  that  shineth  in  a  dark 
place  and  the  darkness  comprehendeth  it  not.  Indeed, 
it  was  not  applicable  under  the  government  of  Israel,  in 
so  far  as  the  execution  of  the  law  and  its  penalties  by 
human  agency  were  concerned,  for  we  read:  "The  fathers 
shall  not  be  put  to  death  for  the  children,  neither  shall 
the  children  be  put  to  death  for  the  fathers;  every  man 
shall  be  put  to  death  for  his  oioii  sirt  '  h.  But  when  the- 
whole  nation  of  Israel  went  into  transgression,  and  re- 
fused to  return  to  the  observance  of  the  law,  God  visited 
them  with  national  calamities  (as  before  observed),  with 
>  pestilences  and  great  plagues,  when  they  should  break 
his  covenant  i.  He  punished  them  seven-fold,  with  con- 
suming diseases — epidemics,  drouths,  giving  them  into^ 
the  hands  of  their  enemies  who  should  rule  over  them, 
and  the  fruit  of  their  land  would  be  smitten.  He  would 
break  the  pride  of  their  power,  and  they  should  be  rohhed 
of  their  children.  He  would  lay  waste  their  cities,  deso- 
late their  sanctuaries,  visit  them  with  such  dire  and 
strange  calamities,  that  even  their  enemies  would  be 
astonished  at  them;  and  if  they  refused  to  "be  re/brme<^'^ 
by  all  this  great  punishment,  then  they  should  even  be 
destroyed  out  of  their  land,  and  it  be  left  desolate,  and 

g  Heb.  10:  9,  10.        ^  Deut.  24:  16.        i  L-jV.  2G:  14-33. 


12  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

they  left  few  in  number.  And  when  these  sad  predic- 
tions were  all  fulfilled  against  Israel,  and  their  children  in 
exile  were  made  to  feel  that  they  were  thus  suffering  on 
account  of  "the  sins"  of  their  "people  Israel,"  need  we 
wonder  that  the  captive  Daniel  prayed,  '  'O  Lord,  accord- 
ing to  all  t  -y  righteousness,  I  beseech  thee,  let  thine 
anger  and  thy  fury  be  turned  away  from  thy  city  Jeru- 
salem, thy  holy  mountain:  because  for  our  sins,  and  for 
the  iniquities  of  our  fatliers,  Jerusalem  and  thy  people  are 
a  reproach  to  all  that  are  about  us"  j.  Laws  or  cove- 
nants involving  this  principle  could  not,  in  their  very 
nature,  unless  such  principle  was  eliminated,  be  an 
adjunct  to,  or  a  part  of  the  gospel.  The  law  of  Christ 
does  not  deal  with  nations,  as  such,  in  that  manner. 
Nor  does  it  propose  penalties  either  in  this  world  or  that 
to  come,  wherein  the  children  shall,  in  any  sense,  or  to 
any  degree,  be  held  responsible  for  the  iniquties  of  their 
fathers;  but,  on  the  contrary,  "Every  one  of  us  shall 
give  account  of  himself  to  God"  h. 

6.  There  are  some  who  seem  to  have  discovered  such 
a  high  degree  of  morality  and  perfection  in  the  ten 
commandment  law  that  they,  in  their  claims  for  it,  assert 
that  it  is  the  code  that  governs  in  heaven;  that  the 
angelic  hosts  in  their  exalted  sphere  render  homage  to 
Grod  in  accordance  with  its  requirements.  "It  existed," 
say  they,  "before  man  was  created.  The  angels  were 
governed  by  it"  I.  If  this  statement  be  true,  the  Sab- 
bath was  not  instituted  in  Eden^  or  "made  for  ma/i" 
•only,  but  for  the  angels  as  well!  Will  one  of  the  believ- 
ers of  this  "spirit  of  prophecy"  give  us  a  dilation  on  the 
application  of  the  decalogue,  in  all  its  bearings,  to  the 
•conduct  of  the  angels?  Perhaps  they  will  enlighten  us 
-as  to  how  the  angels  order  their  households,  including 

j  Dan.  9:  16.        Ic  Rom.  14:  12.        I  Mrs.  E.  White.'in 
"Spirit  of  Prophecy,"  vol.  1,  p.  261, 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  la 

their  servants  and  beasts  of  burden  on  the  Sabbath  dayt 
Possibly  they  could  render  clear  to  our  understanding 
what  effect  it  would  have  on  the  angels  in  heaven  were 
they  to  fail  to  carry  out  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  fifth 
commandment,  or  the  tenth  and  last  one,  for  instance. 
This  would  be  a  source  of  edification  that  the  gospel  of 
Christ  fails  to  afford.  Now  we  believe  in  revering  the 
law  of  God  given  to  Israel,  just  as  he  designed  we  should, 
but  we  do  not  wish  to  make  claims  for  it  that,  in  their 
logical  deductions,  would  render  it  ridiculous,  or  that 
are  absurd. 

7.  We  here  observe  that,  by  the  law  of  the  ten  com- 
mandments, no  one  can  be  convicted  of  sin,  unless  guilty 
of  committing  the  overt  act  by  it  prohibited.  It  does  not 
make  the  conception  of  the  act  in  the  hearty  or  its  desire, 
sin.  Nor  can  we  determine  from  them  what  the  penalty 
is  for  their  violation,  or,  indeed,  wh^^er  there  be  a  pen- 
alty save  for  the  violation  of  the  fi^  two;  and  that,  as 
we  have  seen,  is  for  national  transgressions.  Now  to 
illustrate  the  truth  of  this  statement,  take  the  case  of 
the  man  who  "gathered  sticks  upon  the  Sabbath  day," 
whom  the  children  of  Israel  incarcerated  till  Moses 
might  be  informed  of  the  Lord  what  the  penalty  might 
be  m.  "If  there  be  found  among  you,  within  any  of  thy 
gates  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee,  a  man  or 
woman,  that  hath  wrought  wickedness  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord  thy  God,  in  transgressing  his  covenant^  and  hath 
gone  and  served  other  Gods  ti,  and  worshiped  them, 
either  the  sun,  or  the  moon,  or  any  of  the  host  of  heaven, 
which  I  have  not  commanded;  and  it  be  told  thee,  and 
thou  hast  heard  of  it,  and  enquired  diligently,  and, 
behold,  it  be  true,  and  the  thing  certain,  that  such 
abomination  is  wrought  in  Israel:  then  shalt  thou  bring 
forth  that  man  or  that  woman,  which  have  committed 

m  Num.  15:  32-35.        »Deut.  17:  2-7. 


14  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

that  wicked  thing,  unto  thy  gates,  even  that  man  or  that 
woman,  and  shalt  stone  them  with  stones,  till  they  die. 
At  the  mouth  of  two  witnesses,  or  three  witness,  shall 
he  that  is  worthy  of  death  be  put  to  death;  but  at  the 
mouth  of  one  witness  he  shall  not  be  put  to  death.  The 
hands  of  the  witnesses  shall  be  first  upon  him  to  put  him 
to  death,  and  afterward  the  hands  of  all  the  people.  So 
thou  shalt  put  the  evil  away  from  among  you."  This 
passage  of  holy  writ  demonstrates  the  fact,  that  the  law 
of  the  ten  commandments  is  a  part  of  the  covenant  that 
God  made  with  Israel  at  Sinai — that  law  prohibiting 
idolatry — and  that  to  break  it  was  ^^transgressing  Ms  cove- 
nant;'' and,  that  its  violation  was  determined  by  an 
■earthly  court,  and  that  by  an  earthly  court  was  the  pen- 
alty executed.  It  further  shows  that,  in  its  very  nature, 
it  is  no  part  of  the  code  that  constitutes  the  unexecuted 
thoughts  of  wrongdoing,  sin.  Only  He  who  knows  the 
secret  operations  of  the  human  mind  and  affections,  can 
judge  and  convict,  and  he  can  convict  justly,  only,  after 
the  law  is  revealed  defining  evil  thoughts  to  be  sin. 

With  the  foregoing  facts  concerning  the  ten  command- 
ments, as  viewed  abstractly  and  apart  from  the  statutes 
and  judgments  that  actually  grew  out  of  them,  carefully 
noted,  we  notice  again  the  further  fact  that,  if  Moses  did 
not  add  to  the  ten  commandments  as  originally  given  on 
the  Mount  Sinai,  they  are  not  all  contained  in  the  record 
as  found  in  Exodus,  chapter  twenty.  For  as  they  stand 
recorded  as  rehearsed  by  Moses  from  the  second  set  of 
tables,  these  additional  words  are  found:  *'And  remem- 
ber that  thou  wast  a  servant  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and 
that  the  Lord  thy  G-od  brought  thee  out  thence  through 
a  mighty  hand  and  by  a  stretched  out  arm:  therefore  the 
Lord  thy  God  commanded  thee  to  keep  the  Sahhath  day''  o. 

That  Moses  did  not  add  the  contents  of  the  verse  cited, 

oDeut.  5:15. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  15 

but  that  Grod  spoke  these  words,  Moses  declares:  '/These 
words  the  Lord  spake  unto  all  your  assembly  in  the 
mount  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire,  of  the  cloud,  and  of 
the  thick  darkness,  with  a  great  voice:  and  he  added  no 
more.  And  he  wrote  them  in  two  tables  of  stone,  and 
delivered  them  unto  me"  p.  Observe  now  that  the  rea- 
son here  assigned  by  the  Lord,  why  he  commanded  Israel 
to  keep  the  Sabbath  day  holy,  is  omitted  from  the  copy 
we  have  of  the  decalogue  in  Exodus.  But  it  is  substan- 
tially the  wording  of  the  title  to  the  enactment  of  God  in 
ordaining,  formulating  and  recording  the  other  nine  also: 
^'I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which  have  brought  thee  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage"  q. 
These  are  reasons  God  gave  for  requiring  Israel  to  keep 
the  ten  commandments  as  formulated  and  given  to  them 
at  Sinai,  and  shows  us  that  he  designed  them  to  be  kept 
by  those  so  brought  out  of  Egypt,  from  "the  house  of 
bondage."  And  further,  they  show  that  the  claim  made 
by  seventh-day  Sabbath  advocates,  that  the  fourth  com- 
mandment is  a  memorial  of  creation  and  designed  to  com- 
memorate God's  work,  in  the  creation  of  the  universe,  is 
an  assumption.  The  decalogue  nowhere  states  that  the 
Sabbath  was  or  is  a  "memorial,"  either  of  God,  or  his 
creation;  nor  does  the  Bible  anywhere  so  state,  so  far  as 
we  know.  The  claim  is  an  assumption;  for  this,  the 
Bible  says,  is  God's  memorial,  "And  God  said  moreover 
unto  Moses,  Thus  sh alt  thou  say  unto  the  children  of 
Israel;  the  Lord  God  of  your  fathers,  the  God  of  Abra- 
ham, the  God  of  Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob,  hath  sent 
me  unto  you;  this  is  my  name  forever,  and  this  is  my 
memorial  unto  all  geneneraf ions'  z.  Now  join  the  fact 
that  God  brought"  Israel  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt 
attended  with  such  wonders  and  signs  as  to  demonstrate 
to  them  his    A  Imighty  power  and  goodness,   and   this 

p  verse  22..       g  Ex.  20:2.        «  Ex.  3:15. 


16  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

Name^  his  ^ 'memorial,*'  tog'ether,  and  the  divine  reason  for 
Israel's  keeping  the  Sabbath,  assigned  in  Deuteronomy, 
fifth  chapter  and  fifteenth  verse,  becomes  obvious.  And 
80  inspiration  understood  this  matter  in  after  times,  for 
David.  recouniiDg  the  wonderful  works  of  God  in  deliv- 
ering Israel  from  Egypt  and  planting  them  in  Canaan, 
in  fulfillment  of  his  promise  to  Abraham,  Isaac  and 
Jacob,  concludes  with  these  words,  *'Thy  name^  O  Lord, 
endureth  forever;  ani  thy  nif^morial^  O  Lord,  throughout 
all  generations"  r.  But  again,  we  have  no  evidence  in 
the  Biole  that  the  decalogue  was  ever  revealed  to  man 
till  it  was  given  to  Israel  at  Sinai:  ''^For  until  the  law  sin 
was  in  the  world;  but  sin  is  not  imputed  where  there  is 
no  law.  Nevertheless  death  reigned /ro?/i  Adam  to  Moses, 
over  them  that  had  not  sinned  after  the  similitude  of 
Adam's  transgression,  who  is  the  figure  of  him  that  was 
to  come"  8.  And  this  accounts  for  the  fact  that,  in  all 
the  history  of  things  prior  to  Moses,  we  have  no  account 
of  the  injunction  being  given  to  anyone  to  observe  the 
seventh  day  as  the  Sabbath. 

God  made  a  covenant  with  the  children  of  Israel  at 
Mount  Sinai.  The  decalogue  was  made  the  basis  of  that 
covenant.  The  covenant  was  national  in  its  character. 
As  a  nation  they  had  to  be  located.  By  this  covenant 
they  were  to  be  organized  into  a  "kingdom,"  somewhere 
on  earth.  This  kingdom  was  to  be  of  a  twofold  nature, — 
a  kingdom  at  once  religious  and  political,  the  religious 
phase  of  it  being  largely  ceremonial,  being  governed 
b}'^  that  department  of  the  code  of  laws,  and  so  we  read : 
**Then  verily  the  first  covenant  had  also  ordinances  of 
divine  service,  and  a  worldly  sanctuary  t.  Now  the  ten 
commandments,  being  the  foundation  of  this  covenant, 
it  must,  in  its  nature,  be  a  religio-political  enactment, 
and  hence  it  is  that  six  of  the  ten  commandments  relate 

r  Pb.  135:  13;  Bi.  3:  15;  Hos.  Ill  5.      «  Rom.  5:  13,  14.      i  Heb.  9:  1. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  17 

directly  to  the  relation  of  man  to  his  fellow,  while  four 
relate  to  the  obligations  of  man  to  God.  The  decalogue 
was  so  all-important  a  factor  in  the  covenant  that,  some- 
times by  a  figure  of  synechdoche,  where  a  part  of  any- 
thing is  put  for  the  whole,  the  ten  hasic  conditions  of  the 
covenant  are  called  ''the  covenant."  ''And  he  de- 
clared unto  you  his  covenant,  which  he  commanded  you 
to  perform,  even  ten  commandments:  and  he  wrote 
them  upon  two  tables  of  stone"  tt.  Indeed,  sometimes 
a  single  enactment  is  called  a  covenant,  as,  when  Canaan 
was  given  to  Abraham  the  rite  of  circumcision  is  called 
a  covenant  u.  Doubtless  the  reason  why  this  is  so,  is, 
because  it  was  the  sign  or  seal  of  the  covenant,  v,  with 
Abraham,  and  as  the  rainbow  in  the  cloud  was  in  the 
covenant  made  with  Noah  w.  In  the  covenant  made 
with  Israel  at  Sinai,  the  Sabbath  day  was  assigned  the 
important  position  of  token,  sign,  or  seal;  also  "a  per- 
petual covenant"  x;  and  like  the  rite  of  circumcision  was 
to  be  observed  by  Israel  "throughout  their  generations" 
by  a  perpetual  covenant,  just  like  the  atonement  Sab- 
bath y;  or  the  statute  governing  the  weekly  arrange- 
ment of  the  shewbread  z.  The  seventh-day  Sabbath 
then,  was  the  seal  of  the  covenant  made  with  Israel  at 
Sinai.  This  covenant  was  to  give  way  to  the  new  'and 
everlasting  covenant,  we  are  taught,  the  covenant  rati- 
fied by  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God.  Will  the  old  be  re- 
enacted — made  anew — or  will  the  Lord  make  a  new  cov- 
enant? 

What  is  the  seal  of  the  new  covenant?  Not  baptism, 
for  that  seems  to  have  been  foreshadowed  by  the  natural 
birth,  under  the  law.  Natural  birth  brought  one  into 
the  literal  kingdom  of  Israel;  but  in  the  new  covenant 
we  are  told  that  '  'as  many  of  you  as  have  been  baptized 

ttDeut.  4:  12,  13.        w  Gen.  17:  9,  10.        u  Rom.  4:11.         w?  Gen,  9:  12, 
a?  Ex.  31.        y  Lev.  23:31.        ^  Lev.  24:  8.  9. 


18  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABfeATH. 

into  Christy  have  put  on  Christ.  And  if  ye  he  Christ's^ 
then  are  ye  Abraham's  seed,  and  heirs  according  to  the 
promise."  The  act  of  making  covenant,  on  our  part, 
could  not  be  the  seal  of  it.  The  seal  of  the  new  covenant 
seems  to  be  an  act  consummated  on  the  part  of  G-od 
thus,  "In  whom  ye  also  trusted,  after  that  ye  heard  the 
word  of  truth,  the  gospel  of  your  salvation:  in  whom 
[Christ]  also,  after  that  ye  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with 
that  Holy  Spirit  of  promise,  which  is  the  earnest  of  our 
inheritance  until  the  redemption  of  the  purchased  pos- 
session, unto  the  praise  of  his  glory."  And,  ''Now  he 
which  stablisheth  us  with  you  in  Christ,  and  hath 
anointed  us,  is  God;  who  hath  also  sealed  us,  and  given 
us  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts"  a. 

The  decalogue,  separate  and  apart  from  all  other  law, 
statutes  and  judgments,  with  no  rewards  or  penalties, 
and  therefore  not  administered  or  executed,  is  a  passive 
or  inactive  formulary,  and  hence  it  is  that,  in  the  nature 
of  the  case,  definitive  regulations,  of  equal  authority  with 
itself,  must  be  provided;  and  so  we  find  in  the  history 
of  the  case  that,  when  Moses  went  up  into  the  Mount  to 
receive  the  tables  of  the  covenant,  God  also  gave  him 
statutes  and  judgments  so  that  the  code  might  become 
operative,  such  judgments  and  statutes  having  the  sev- 
eral ten  commandments  for  their  basis,  as  we  read  in 
the  twenty-first,  twenty-second  and  twenty-third  chap- 
ters of  Exodus,  the  Sabbath  being  no  exception.  And 
after  all  this,  and  Moses  had  written  the  words  of  the 
Lord  in  a  book,  and  the  people  had  heard  them  and 
freely  agreed  to  keep  them,  the  people,  the  altar,  and 
the  book  of  the  covenant,  were  sprinkled  with  "the 
blood  of  the  covenant,"  which  God  had  made  with  them 
'^concerning  all  these  loords.''  Of  God's  doings  in  the 
Mount,  Moses  said:   "And  the  Lord  commanded  me  at 

aEph.  1:  13;    2  Cor.  1:  22. 


V 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  19 

that  time  to  teach  you  statutes  and  judgments,  that  ye 
might  do  them  in  the  land  whither  ye  go  over  to  possess 
it"  h. 

Since  law  is  inoperative  unless  administered,  who  were 
the  authorized,  ordained  administrators  of  this  law? 
Who  were  to  instruct  the  people  and  see  that  the  law 
was  carried  into  effect?  Answer:  "And  the  Lord  spake 
unto  Aaron,  saying,  Do  not  drink  wine  nor  strong 
drink,  thou  nor  thy  sons  with  thee,  when  ye  go  into  the 
tabernacle  of  the  congregation,  lest  ye  die;  it  shall  be  a 
statute  for  ever  throughout  your  generations;  and  that 
ye  may  put  difference  between-  holy  and  unholy,  and 
between  clean  and  unclean;  and  that  ye  may  teach  the 
children  of  Israel  all  the  statutes  which  the  Lord  hath 
spoken  unto  them  by  the  hand  of  Moses"  c.  "If  there- 
fore perfection  were  by  the  Levitical  priesthood,  (for 
under  it  the  people  received  the  law),  what  further  need 
was  there  that  another  priest  should  rise  after  the  order 
of  Melchisedec  and  not  be  called  after  the  order  of 
Aaron?  For  the  priesthood  being  changed,  there  is  made 
of  necessity  a  change  also  of  the  lavj^  d. 

Now,  if  God  gave  tioo  separate  and  distinct  codes  of 
law  to  Israel  at  Sinai,  the  decalogue  and  the  ceremonial, 
the  former  immutable^  but  the  latter  mutable  and  tem- 
porary, and  if  the  latter  only  was,  as  was  designed  to 
be,  abolished  at  the  death  of  Christ,  what  law  is  it  that 
is,  "of  necessity''  changed'^  The  only  law  left,  according 
to  the  assumption  that  two  were  given,  is  the  ten  com- 
mandments. Now  to  abolish  a  law,  is  not  to  change  it. 
The  heavens  and  the  earth  are  to  be  changed  e.  The 
children  of  God  are  all  to  be  changed:,  at  the  resurrec- 
tion /,  but  not  abolished  nor  exchanged.  To  abolish 
one  code  of  law,  and  institute  an  entirely  different  and 

6Deat.  4:14.      4C  Lav.  10:  S-11.        d  H  >b.  7:  11,  12.        e  Ileb.  2:  12, 
/I  Cor.  15:  51. 


20  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

distinct  law  in  its  stead,  is  not  to  change  the  law,  but 
institute  an  entirely  different,  distinct  and  new  order  of 
things.  This  consideration,  it  seems,  is  fatal  to  the 
''two-law"  theory.  But  from  the  last  scriptures  quoted, 
we  learn  that  the  Aaronic  Priesthood  were  the  adminis- 
trators of  the  old  covenant.  Again,  "For  the  priest's 
lips  should  keep  knowledge,  and  they  should  seek  the  Jaw 
at  his  mouth"  g.  But  the  priesthood  of  Christ  did  not 
minister  that  covenant,  nor  did  Christ  constitute  his 
servants  ministers  of  that  covenant.  Says  Paul,  "Not 
that  we  are  sufficient  of  ourselves  to  think  anything  as 
of  ourselves;  but  our  sufficiency  is  of  God;  who  also  hath 
made  us  able  ministers  of  the  new  testament;  not  of  the 
letter^  hut  of  the  Spirit:  for  the  letter  hilleth^  but  the  Spirit 
giveth  life.  But  if  the  ministration  of  death  [the  letter] , 
written  and  engraven  in  stones,  was  glorious,  so  that 
the  children  of  Israel  could  not  steadfastly  behold  the 
face  of  Moses  for  the  glory  of  his  countenance:  which 
glory  was  to  be  done  away;  how  shall  not  the  ministration 
of  the  Spirit  be  rather  glorious"  h. 

The  ministration  of  Moses,  when  his  countenance  was 
so  illumined  that  Israel  could  not  steadily  behold  it,  was 
on  the  occasion  of  his  descent  from  the  mountain  '  'with 
the  two  tables  of  testimony,"  "and  all  the  children  of 
Israel  came  nigh:  and  he  gave  them  m  commandment  all 
that  the  Lord  had  spoken  with  him  in  Mount  Sinai"  i. 
And  the  command,  "Six  days  thou  shalt  work,  but  on 
the  seventh  day  thou  shalt  rest:  in  earing  time  and  in 
harvest  thou  shalt  rest,"  was  among  the  things  then  and 
there  administered  j.  Moreover,  the  Lord  told  Moses  to 
write  "these  words,"  "for  after  the  tenor  of  these  ivords  I 
have  made  a  covenant  with  thee  and  with  Israel."  .  . 
*'And  he  wrote  upon  the  tables  the  words  of  the  cove- 

flfMal.  2:7.        7i  2  Cor.  3:  5,  6,  7.        i  Ex.chap.  3!|^      i  verse  21. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  21 

nant,  the  ten  commandments"  h.  Of  this  covenant — the 
ten  commandments,  including  the  seventh-day  rest — ■ 
Paul  says  he  and  his  fellow  laborers  in  the  Christian  i 
economy  Grod  had  not  made  them  ministers.  They,  then, 
did  not  preach  or  practice,  or  administer  to  others,  that 
law,  or  hold  it  as  of  force  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  It 
was  a  law  of  death.  They  administered  "the  law  of  the 
Spirit  of  life." 

8.  One  thing  more  is  lacking  in  the  decalogue,  view- 
ing it  as  a  separate  code  from  the  rest  of  the  system.  It 
does  not  define  when  the  seventh-day  rest  shall  begin  or 
end,  whether  at  sunset  on  Friday  evening,  at  midnight 
following,  or  on  Saturday"  morning  as  we  say.  No  light 
is  given  us  on  this  point  till  the  regulation  is  given,  as 
we  learn,  when  Moses  went  into  the  Mount  to  receive 
the  statutes  and  judgments  I.  Nor  does  the  decalogue 
define  whether  there  shall  be  '^a  holy  convocation"  on 
the  Sabbath  or  no.  When  the  Sabbath  was  given  to 
Israel  in  "the  wilderness  of  sin"  they  seemed  to  be 
entirely  ignorant  as  to  what  was  meant  by  the  Sabbath, 
so  much  so  that,  when  the  people  gathered  the  double 
portion  on  the  sixth  day^  "all  the  rulers  of  the  congrega- 
tion came  and  told  Moses."  Then  Moses  proceeded  to 
instruct  th&m  OTL  the  subject  thus:  "This  is  that  which 
the  Lord  hath  said.  To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy 
sabbath  unto  the  Lord:  bake  that  which  ye  will  bake 
to-day,  and  seethe  that  ye  will  seethe;  and  that  which 
remaineth  over  lay  up  for  you  to  be  kept  until  the  morn- 
ing" m. 

Had  even  the  rulers  of  Israel  been  taught  concerning 
the  Sabbath,  and  had  been  habituated  to  its  observance 
weekly,  they  would  have  understood  the  matter  without 
going  to  Moses  about  it.  They  did  not  have  to  go  to 
Moses  to  learn  whether  the  man  "that  gathered  sticks 

fcEx.  35:27,  28.        ?  Lev.  23:  32.        m  Ex.  16:22-S0. 


22  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

on  the  sabbath,"  had  transgressed^  or  no.  after  the  Lord 
had  uttered  the  ten  commandments  on  Mount  Sinai. 
Only  the  penalty  for  the  transgression  they  desired  to- 
learn.  The  Lord  fed  Israel  miraculously  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  gave  them  regulations  pertaining  to  the  gath- 
ering and  use  of  it,  also  prohibiting  their  gathering  the 
manna  on  the  Sabbath  day,  and  when  the  children  of 
Israel  failed  to  observe  those  regulations  which  God  had 
given  'Ho  prove'  them,  the  Lord  asked:  "How  long 
refuse  ye  to  keep  my  commandments  and  my  laws,"  and 
then  follows  another  regulation  relating  to  the  manner 
of  observing  the  Sabbath,  as  follows:  "See,  for  that  the 
Lord  hath  given  you  the  sabbath,  therefore  he  giveth  you 
on  the  sixth  day  the  bread  of  two  days:  abide  ye  every 
man  in  Ms  place,  let  no  man  go  out  of  his  place  on  the 
seventh  day." 

If  Israel  had  been  instructed  thus  from  their  youth  up, 
there  would  have  been  no  necessity  for  the  explicit  infor- 
mation here  given.  "So  the  people  rested  on  the  sev- 
enth day,"  not  even  ujoJdng  their  food.  But  it  is  prob- 
able that  these  restrictions  ceased  with  the  manna,  for 
after  the  giving  of  the  law  there  was  a  statute  given, 
authorizing  ^^an  holy  convocation^^  on  the  Sabbath,  and 
this  would  necessitate  the  going  "out  of  their  place"  on 
the  Sabbath,  to  attend  the  assembly  n. 

But  7ione  of  these  regulations  of  human  conduct  are 
found  in  the  decalogue,  therefore  we  are  not  taught  by 
it  what  it  is  to  keep  the  vSabbath  day  '7io7?/,"  but  we 
must  look  elsewhere  for  the  law  explaining  hoio  to  keep 
it  holy.  And  the  fact  that  God  did,  by  other  enact- 
ments, give  Israel  to  understand  what  he  meant  by 
their  being  required  to  keep  the  Sabbath  day  holy,  leads 
us,  undeniably,  to  the  conclusion  that  God  did  not  design 
that  the  decalogue  was  to  be  understood  a^  a  complete^ 

n  Llv.  24:  3. 


THE  CPIRISTIAN  SABBATH.  23 

immutable,  unchangeable,  irrevocable  code  of  law  any- 
where and  in  any  age. 

God  made  a  covenant  with  Israel  at  Sinai.  A  cove- 
nant denotes  a  coming  together  of  mutual  parties,  and  a 
mutual  agreement.  At  Sinai  GdcJ  and  Israel  came 
together  in  mutual  agreement  —  covenanted  with  each 
other;  God  agreeing  to  do  certain  thingg^for  Israel  upon 
certain  conditions,  and  Israel  agreeing  to  hear  and  obey 
God's  law.  But  such  a  thing  as  a  covenant  without 
conditions  is  inconceivable.  The  conditions  are  the  things 
that  both  parties  to  a  covenant  agree  to  do  conditionally. 
They  are  the  specified  requirements  of  the  covenant. 
This  proposition  is  true  of  every  covenant  that  God  ever. 
called  any  people  of  any  age  to  make  with :  him.  The 
basic  specifications  of  the  covenant  made  at  Sinai  are  the 
ten  commandments,  but  it  also  included  the  testimonies, 
statutes  and  judgments.  Moses  so  understood  this  sub- 
ject, and  that  the  conditions  of  the  covenant  as  then  and 
there  made  pertained  to  no  other  covenant  that  God  ever 
had  made.  The  proof  of  this  is  the  fact  that,  when  Moses 
rehearsed  the  law,  nearly  forty  years  after  the  covenant 
was  made,  he  began  by  quoting  the  fundamental  specifi- 
cations of  the  covenant  as  follows,  also  including  the 
statement  that  God  had  not  rnade  this  covenant  with 
any  other  people:  "And  Moses  called  all  Israel,  and 
said  unto  them.  Hear,  O,  Israel,  the  statutes  and  judg- 
ments which  I  speak  in  your  ears  this  day,  that  ye  may 
learn  them,  and  keep,  and  do  them.  The  Lord  our  God 
made  a  covenant  with  us  in  Horeb.  The  Lord  made  not 
THIS  covenant  with  our  fathers^  but  ws,  even  us^  who  are  all 
of  us  here  alive  this  day.  The  Lord  talked  with  you  face 
to  face  in  the  mount  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire,  (I  stood 
between  the  Lord  and  you  at  that  time,  to  shew  you  the 
word  of  the  Lord:  for  ye  were  afraid  by  reason  of  the  fire, 


24  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

and  went  not  up  into  the  mount),  sayuig,  I  am  the  Lord 
thy  God,  which  brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
from  the  house  of  bondage"  o.  This  passage  of  Bible  his- 
tory is  as  plain  as  comment  could  possibly  make  it,  as  to 
what  the  covenant  was,  of  which  the  seventh-day  Sab- 
bath was  a  part,  arwl  where,  and  when,  and  with  whom  this 
covenant  was  made.  The  reason  assigned  here  in  the 
words  of  this  covenant  tchy  the  Israelites  were  to  observe 
the  Sabbath,  is,  "And  remember  that  thou  wast  a  serv- 
ant in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  that  the  Lord  thy  God 
brought  thee  out  thence  through  a  mighty  hand  and  by  a 
stretched  out  arm;  therefore  the  Lord  thy  God  commanded 
thee  to  keep  the  sabbath  day. "  Observe:  The  fact  that  God 
brought  Israel  out  of  Egyptian  bondage,  attended  with 
stupendous  manifestations  of  his  glory  and  power,  is  not 
only  the  reason  why  they  were  to  keep  the  seventh  day 
holy,  but  also  God's  reason  for  instituting  the  command, 
as  a  part  of  his  covenant  with  Israel.  ^'Therefore  the 
Lord  thy  God  commanded  thee  to  keep  the  sabbath  day;" 
and,  for  this  reason,  God  could  give  this  command  to  no 
other  people  but  those  so  brought  out  of  Egyptian  bond- 
age. 

By  the  enactment  of  God  on  Mount  Sinai  the  decalogue 
was  formulated  and  ordained  law,  conjointly  with  the 
statutes  and  judgments  that  rendered  it  operative  p. 
And  by  virtue  of  the  covenant  entered  into,  and  sancti- 
fication  and  ratification  with  blood,  it  became  binding — 
of  force  q.  And  such  a  process  with  regard  to  any  pre- 
cept, ordinance  or  observance,  is  its  institution.  And 
thus  we  have  the  manner  of  the  institution  of  the  sev- 
enth-day Sabbath  as  well  as  the  place  where,  and  the 
time  when,  and  God's  reason  why,  all  plainly  revealed. 

0  Dent.  5:  1-21.       p  Deut.  4: 13,  14.       5  Ex.  34:1-8. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  EDEN  IDEA  OF  THE  SABBATH  INSTI- 
TUTION EXAMINED. 

It  has  been  assumed  by  nearly  all  classes  of  professors 
of  religion  in  Christendom  that,  because  at  the  conclu-- 
sion  of  the  creation  Grod  ended  his  work  on  the  seventh 
day,  and  on  that  day  he  rested,  and,  because  that  after 
having  rested  that  day  ''He  blessed  the  seventh  day, 
and  sanctified  it,"  that  he  therefore  instituted  the  sev- 
enth-day Sabbath  in  the  garden  of  Eden  a.  That  this 
idea  is  an  assumption  is  shown  from  the  fact  that  there  is 
not  a  passage  of  Scripture  supportive  of  it  in  all  the 
Bible.  The  reason  assigned,  and  only  one,  why  God 
sanctified  the  seventh  day  of  the  creative  cycle  is  "be- 
cause that  in  it  he  had  rested  from  all  his  work,  which 
Grod  created  and  made."  Nor  is  there  a  word  connected 
with  the  narrative,  giving  the  faintest  idea  of  a  Sabbath 
institution  there  for  man,  much  less  of  a  Sabbath  enact- 
ment in  Eden. 

This  Eden  Sabbath  theory  assumes  that  the  six  days 
of  creation  were  of  only  twenty-four  hours  duration 
each,  as  man  measures  time,  and  as  a  consequence  the 
absurd  idea  goes  with  it  that  God  just  spoke  the  mate- 
rial world  into  existence  out  of  nought — nothing — in  just 
one  hundred  and  forty-four  hours  of  common  time!  Of 
course,  it  would  not  do  to  admit  that  hefore  the  creation 
'Hhe  earth  was''  h   yet  unformed — not  created — even  if  the 

a  Gen.  ^:  3.        6Geii.  1;2. 


26  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

Bible  does  so  aflBrm;  for  that  might  involve  the  gradual 
development  or  scientific  idea  of  the  creation,  and  that 
would  make  the  six  days  of  creation  too  long,  and,  conse- 
quently, the  seventh  day,  to  suit  the  theory  of  the  Sab- 
bath in  Eden,  as  inferred  from  the  passage  in  Genesis, 
chapter  two,  would  be  too  long.  Now,  it  appears  from 
the  history  we  have  of  the  creation,  that  the  adjustment 
of  our  solar  system  to  the  earth,  and  of  its  parts  to  each 
other,  so  as  to  measure  and  create  for  us  day  and  night, 
was  a  part  of  the  fourth  creative  day's  work.  We  do  not 
know  how  long  it  took  the  light  of  the  sun,  after  God 
created  it,  to  reach  the  earth,  nor  do  we  know  the  length 
of  the  first  three  creative  days.  But  the  six  days  of 
creation  av^all  summed  up  as  one  day — '^the  day  that 
the  Lord  God  made  the  earth  and  the  heavens"  c. 

In  Paul's  reference  to  that  seventh  day  when  God 
ended  his  work,  although  writing  to  the  Hebrews,  he 
does  not  call  it  the  Sabbath,  but  seems  to  refer  to  it 
as  being  typical  of  the  "rest"  that  God  offered  to  Israel, 
and  classes  it  with  "another  day"  of  rest,  of  anmdefi- 
nite  length,  that  remains  for  the  people  of  God.  And 
further,  he  says  that  Israel  was  the  first  to  whom  this 
rest  of  God  was  preached,  and  in  the  wilderness  was 
the  time  1^:^671  it  was  "first  preached."  Now,  if  this  be 
true,  it  was  not  first  preached  to  Adam  in  Eden  d. 

But  if  that  seventh  day  that  God  rested  on  was  a  day 
of  twenty-four  hours,  he  did  not  rest  on  that  day  Ix cause 
he  had  previously  appointed  it  and  sanctified  a  sabbath, 
and  of  course  Adam  did  not  sahhatize  on  that  day,  for  it 
had  not  yet  been  appointed  a  sabbath.  Adam  was  not 
created  till  the  sixth  day  of  creation.  The  seventh  was 
his  first  full  day  of  life.  He  had  not  worked  six  days, 
and  the  Sabbath  is  to  succeed  six  days  of  labor.  It  is 
just  as  great  a  sin  not  to  labor  six  days  before  we  rest 

c  Gen.  2: 4.       dHeb.  4:1-9. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  27 

the  seventh,  as  to  refuse  to  keep  the  seventh;  just  as 
much  a  transgression  of  the  law,  "/SVx  days  slialt  thou 
lahoi' '  e.  To  refuse  to  keep  the  letter  of  that  law,  was 
to  vitiate  the  spirit  of  it,  and  thatxwas  sin. 

In  harmony  with  this  fabled  idea  6f  a  Sabbath  in  Eden, 
it  is  imagined  that  our  first  parents  retired  to  some 
quiet  spot  in  the  garden  on  the  Sabbath,,  and  there,  in 
solemn  seclusion,  with  reverence,  did  "remember  the 
Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  lioly^''  just  as  though  they  were^ 
sufficiently  developed,  mentally  and  morally,  to  disdern 
between  one  day  as  being  more  holy  than  the  others,  or 
as  though  the  distinctions  between  the  sacred  and  the  pro- 
fane then  existed  and  were  by  them  recognized  and  appre- 
ciated. But,  unfortunately  for  this  idea,  it  is  all  imag- 
ination; such  a  condition  of  things  had  not  obtained  with 
Adam  and  Eve  till  they  progressed  sufficiently  to  eat  of 
the  fruit  of  "the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil," 
for  after  eating  of  that  fruit  they  became  sensible  of  the 
fact  that  it%as  necessary  to  get  some  "fig  leaves"  and 
make  aprons  with  which  to  clothe  themselves.  Eating 
of  that  fruit  had  such  a  wonderful  effect  on  their  mental 
powers  and  developed  them  so  that  G-od  said,  "Behold 
the  man  is  become  as  one  of  us,  to  know  good  and  evil: 
and  now,  lest  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and  take  also  of  the 
tree  of  life,  and  eat,  and  live  forever;  therefore  the  Lord 
God  sent  him  forth  from  the  garden  of  Eden,  to  till  the 
ground  from  whence  he  was  taken"  /.  Now  we  have  no 
evidence  that  Adam  was  permitted  to  remain  in  the  gar- 
den of  Eden  over  another  seventh  day  after  partaking  of 
the  fruit,  and  these  facts  show  plainly  that  the  idea  of  a 
Sabbath  institution  for  man  in  Eden  is  not  correct. 

The  Bible  says  that  after ^  and  because  God  fcai  rested 
on  the  seventh  day  of  the  creative  cycle,  he  blessed  and 
sanctified  that  day;    but  how  long  after  we  are  not  told 

eEx  20:9.       /Gen.  3:22-24. 


^8  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

in  the  book  of  Genesis,  and  hence  we  look  elsewhere  for 
this  information.  The  first  time  the  injunction  to 
observe  the  Sabbath  was  given,  was  to  Israel  after  their 
deliverance  from  Egyptian  bondage.  This  is  the  exact 
fact,  so  far  as  the  Bible  record  shows.  We  pass  over 
the  patriarchal  age  as  nothing  is  found  in  the  record  of 
those  times  pertaining  to  the  Sabbath,  and,  arriving  at 
the  waters  of  Marah  along  with  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  being  camped  there,  with  no  water  that  they  could 
drink,  they  "murmured  against  Moses,"  and  "he  cried 
unto  the  Lord;  and  the  Lord  shewed  him  a  tree,  which, 
when  he  had  cast  into  the  waters,  the  waters  were  made 
«weet.  There  lie  made  for  them  a  statute  and  an  ordi- 
nance, and  there  he  proved  them  '  g.  The  Lord  informed 
Moses  what  this  "statute"  and  "ordinance"  was  that  he 
there  made  to  prove  them  with;  but  Israel  went  on  to 
Elim,  and  from  Elim  they  "came  to  the  wilderness  of 
Sin,"  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  second  month  after  leav- 
ing Egypt.  At  Sin  they  murmured  for  br^d,  and  here 
the  Lord  sent  the  manna,  and  gave  certain  regulations 
about  the  daily  gathering  of  it,  to  ^^prove  them,  whether 
they"  would  walk  in  his  law,  or  no  h.  No  law  seems  to 
have  been  specified  by  Moses  till  the  twenty-first  day  of 
the  second  month,  and  then,  when,  on  the  sixth  day,  the 
people  gathered  twice  as  much  as  on  either  of  the  previ- 
ous five  days,  the  "rulers  of  the  congregation  came  and 
told  Moses,"  and  he  then  informed  them  what  the  Lord 
had  said,  "To-morrow  is  the  rest  of  the  holy  sabbath 
unto  the  Lord. "  .  .  .  "See,  for  that  the  Lord  hath  given 
you  the  sabbath"  i.  Then  Israel  being  informed  what 
the  "statute"  and  "ordinance"  was,  that  God  had  made 
for  them,  that  he  might  ^^prove  them,''  .  .  .  "rested  on 
the  seventh  day"i.  This  narrative  unlocks  to  the  under- 
standing this  statement  of  our  Savior:    "And  he  said 

g  Ex.  15: 23-25.        h  Ex.  16:  4.        i  veree  23.       j  verse  30. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  29 

unto  them  [Pharisees],  The  sabbath  was  made  for  man, 
and  not  man  for  the  sabbath"  h^  as  to  the  place  wJiere^- 
the  time  when^  and  the  people  for  whom,  th6  Sabbath 
ordinance  was  made.  This  "ordinance,"  like  the  Pass- 
over, afterward  became  a  part  of  the  national  code;  was 
the  sign  of  the  covenant  made  at  Sinai,  and  a  memorial  of 
the  deliverance  of  Israel  from  their  rigorous  servitude 
in  Egypt  and  was  attended  by  the  grandest  series  of 
wonders  of  the  Divine  hand  ever  seen  displayed  /. 

Having  taken  a  review  of  the  assumptions  underlying 
the  position  of  those  holding  to  the  perpetuity  of  the 
seventh-day  Sabbath,  viz.,  that  that  Sabbath  was  insti- 
tuted in  Eden,  and  that  it  is  therefore  a  memorial  of  the 
creation,  or  of  God's  rest;  also  the  assumption  that  the 
decalogue  is  G-od's  perfect  law,  the  acme  of  all  moral  law, 
and  is  therefore  immutable  and  eternally  perpetual  and 
■unchangeable,  and  found  them  to  be  simply  taking  for 
granted  the  things  that  ought  to  be  proved,  and  the  very 
points  for  which  no  Bible  proof  exists,  we  now  submit 
the  following:  The  assertion  that  the  decalogue  is  the 
moral,  immutable  law,  and  therefore  perpetual,  implies 
that  that  part  of  the  law  not  contained  in  the  ten  com- 
mandments and  that  was  (as  is  admitted)  abolished  and 
not  perpetual,  was  not  perfect  nor  moral,  and  that  God 
gave  a  law  to  Israel  that  was  not  moral!  Yet  notwith- 
standing this  anomalous  position,  our  Savior  found  two 
divine  commands  in  the  law  (and  not  found  in  the  ten) 
that  gave  to  the  ten  whatever  moral  effect  they  exerted 
or  possessed,  and  on  which  they  depended,  and  were 
therefore  ^Hhe  great^^  commandments  in  the  law,  viz.: 
^'Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart, 
and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is 
the  first  and  great  commandment.  And  the  second  is 
like  unto  it^  Thou   shalt    love   thy  neighbor  as  thyself. 

fc  Mark  3:  27."      ZDeut.  5:15. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  30 

On  these  two  commandments  hang  all  the  law  and  the 
prophets''  m.  By  this  statement  of  Christ,  we  learn,  not 
only  that  "the  great"  commandments  of  the  law  were 
found  elsewhere  than -in  the  decalogue,  but  also  that  he 
recognized  that  the  law,  in  its  entirety,  was  a  unit}/,  and 
not  divided,  as  to  jjfs  moral  and  ceremonial  phases. 

The  phrases,  .^tiaw  of  the  Lord,"  or  "of  G-od,  and  "law 
of  Moses,"  do  not  imply  two  distinct  and  separate  laws, 
the  one  moral  and  the  other  ceremonial.  The  law  given 
of  God  to  Israel  through  Moses  is  all  one  law,  as  a  code. 
It  was  ordained  for,  and  applied  to,  a  government  that 
was  cit  the  same  time  civil  and  religious  —  a  union  of 
church  and  state — and  hence  it  is  that  the  decalogue,  the 
fundamental  basis,  the  constitution  of  the  code  of  law, 
contained  four  obligations  relating  to  the  service  of  God, 
and  six  that  pertained  to  the  relation  of  man  to  his  fel- 
lows. This  law  that  constituted  Israel  a  "kingdom  of 
priests,"  is,  by  the  apostle  James,  called  "the  royal 
law,"  and  included  the  ten  commandments:  "If  ye  ful- 
fill the  royal  law  according  to  the  scripture,  Thou  shalt 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,  ye  do  well;  but  if  ye  have 
respect  to  persons,  ye  commit  sin,  and  are  convinced  of 
the  law  as  transgressors.  For  whosoever  shall  keep  the 
tvJiole  laiVj  and  yet  offend  in  one  point,  he  is  guilty  of  all. 
Por  he  that  said.  Do  not  commit  adultery,  said  also.  Do 
not  kill.  Now  if  thou  commit  no.  adultery,  yet  if  thou 
kill,  thou  art  become  a  transgressor  of  the  law"  n.  "For 
this,  Thou  shalt  not  commit  adultery.  Thou  shalt  not 
kill,  Thou  shalt  not  steal,  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  wit- 
ness. Thou  shalt  not  covet,  and  if  there  be  any  other 
commandment,  it  is  briefly  comprehended  in  this  saying, 
namely.  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  th^^self"  o. 

This  law  required  that  a  man  only  love  his  neigJihor, 
for  "he  that  loveth  another,  hath  fulfilled  the  law."    Bvit 

m  Mait.  22:  37-40.        n  James  2:  8-11.        o  Horn.  13: 9. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  31 

James  desired  the  Saints  to  conform  to  a  law  higher  yet 
than  that  "royal  law"  in  moral  culture,  more  wealthy 
in  spiritual  endowments;  one  which  did  not  limit  their 
charitable  services  to  neighbors  only^  but  a  law  involving 
this  principle,  "Therefore  all  things  whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you, ^  do  ye  also  to  them 
likewise.  For  if  ye  love  them  [onlyj-^which  love  you, 
what  thank  have  ye?  for  sinners  also  love  those  that  love 
them.  And  if  ye  do  good  to  them  which  do  good  to  you, 
what  thank  have  ye?  for  sinners  also  do  even  the  same. 
And  i.^  yQ  lend  to  them  of  whom  ye  hope  to  receive, 
what  thank  have  ye?  for  sinners  lend  to  sinners,  to 
receive  as  much  again.  But  love  your  enemies^  and  do 
good,  and  lend,  hoping  for  nothing  again;  and  your 
reward  shall  be  great,  and  ye  shall  be  the  children  of  the 
Highest:  for  he  is  kind  unto  the  unthankful  and  to  the 
evil.  Be  ye  therefore  merciful,  as  your  Father  also  is 
merciful"  p.  And  while  this  is  the  law  and  the  prophets, 
it  is  to  be  noted  that  it  is  not  the  doctrine  of  the  ten 
commandment  division  of  it.  And  hence  it  is  that  James 
cites  us  at  once  to  "the  perfect  law  of  liberty,"  exhort- 
ing us  to  "so  speak  ye,  and  so  do,  as  they  that  shall  be 
judged  by  the  law  of  liberty"  g. 

Thus  the  apostle  recognizes  the  unity  of  the  law-  - 
"royal  law" — and  does  not  appear  to  know  anything 
whatever  of  this  artificial  division  of  the  covenant  God 
made  with  Israel  at  Sinai,  which  division  is  made,  evi- 
dently, in  the  interests  of  the  seventh-day  Sabbath 
theory.  The  world  of  mankind  will  be  judged  at  the  last 
day  by  "the  law  of  liberty" — the  gospel  of  Christ — that 
which  makes  men  "/7*ee  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death"  r. 

Luke  recognized  that  the  law  which  was  called  by 
Jewish  custom  "the  law  of  Moses,"  was  "the  law  of  the 

2>  Lake  6:  31-36.       g  James  2: 1>.        r  Acts  17:  31;  Rom.  2: 16; 
Hcb.  10:28,29. 


32  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

Lord,"  *^the  law,"  and  was  a  unity s.  Likewise  our 
Savior  called  that  law,  "the  law  given  of  Moses,"  as 
also  ^^tlie  Jaw'  tj  and  quoted  from  any  portion  of  it  suit- 
able to  the  case  in  hand,  as  may  be  seen  by  referring  to 
Matthew,  chapter  five,  calling  it  all  by  the  simple 
title,  ''the  law."    J 

The  modern  idea,  then,  of  dividing  the  law,  designat- 
ing the  divisions,  moral,  and  ceremonial,  respectively,  is 
unauthorized  either  by  the  Bible  or  any  inspired  prec- 
edent.  And  until  its  abrogation,  according  to  the  orig- 
inal design,  Christ  enjoined  strict  obedience  to  all  its 
requirements,  including  the  "least"  commandment,  the 
jots  and  the  tittles  u;  nor  did  he  follow  the  example  of 
those  who  "have  hQ&n. partial  in  the  law."  (Mai.  2:  9). 

5  Luke  2:  22-24;  10:25-27.       <  John  7: 19.       «  Matt.  5: 18, 19; 
8:1-4;  15:1-6;  23:2. 


/ 


CHAPTER   IV. 


ABROGATION    OF    THE   LAW. 

We  now  pass  on  to  notice  briefly  the  end,  or  abroga- 
tion of  the  law,  as  a  code,  in  order  to  the  establishment 
of  the  "better  covenant,  which  was  established  upon 
better  promises."  For,  says  Paul,  "if  that  first  covenant 
had  been  faultless^  then  should  no  place  have  been 
sought  for  the  second"  v.  "Everlasting  righteousness"" 
awaited  the  advent  of  the  Messiah  for  its  introduction. 
(Dan.  9:  24).  "A  law"  should  "proceed  from  Him;" 
"and  the  isles"  waited  for  "A/s  law.''  He  was  to  be, 
and  is,  "for  a  covenant  of  the  people,  for  a  light  to 
the  gentiles." — Isa.  51:4;  42:4-6.  "Behold  the  former 
things  are  come  to  pass,  and  new  tilings  do  I  declare; 
before  they  spring  forth  I  tell  you  of  them." — verse  9. 
Thus  did  the  prophets  view  beforehand,  by  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  which  was  in  them,  the  bringing  in  of  the  "better 
hope,"  by  grace  and  truth. 

If,  then,  the  Messiah  came  that  we  might  have  life^ 
and  that,  too,  because  the  law  could  not  give  life,  and,, 
therefore  everlasting  righteousness  was  not  introduced 
by  the  law;  and,  also,  inasmuch  as  the  inheritance  of  the 
Saints  is  not  of  the  law,  what  was  th.Q  purpose  of  the  law? 
—  "Wherefore  then  serveth  the  law?"  Answer: — "It 
was  added  because  of  transgressions,  till  the  seed  should 
come  to  whom  the  promise  was  made,  and  it  was 
ordained  by  angels  in  the  hand  of  a  mediator."  And 
"knowing  this,  that  the  law  is  not  made  for  a  righteous 

vHeb.  8:6,  7.  33 


34  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

man,  but  for  the  lawless  and  disobedient,  for  the  ungodly 
and  for  sinners,  for  unholy  and  profane,  for  murderers 
of  fathers  and  murderers  of  mothers,  for  manslayers, 
for  whoremongers,  for  them  that  defile  themselves  with 
mankind,  for  menstealers,  for  liars,  for  perjured  persons. 
and  if  there  be  any  other  thing  that  is  contrary  to  sound 
doctrine;  according  to  the  gloriovs  gospel  of  the  blessed  God, 
which  was  committed  to  my  trust"  w.  Because  of  trans- 
gression it  was  necessary  that  a  law  be  made  and  given 
to  the  children  of  Israel,  the  penalties  of  which  should  not 
be  deferred  to  "the  world  to  come"  for  visitation  on 
the  transgressor;  hence  the  law  was  added  to  the  ''prom- 
ise" made  to  Abraham,  which  promise  embodied  the  gos- 
pel preached  to  him,  namely,  that  in  Abraham  and  his 
seed,  [Christ] ,  all  nations  shall  be  blessed  x.  This  added 
law  was  ''ordained  oy  angels  in  the  hand  of  a  mediator." 
The  angel  that  appeared  to  Moses  in  Mount  Horeb  called 
himself  "the  Lord  God  of  your  fathers"?/.  Again,  "And 
the  Lord  went  before  them  by  day  in  a  pillar  of  a  cloud, 
to  lead  them  the  way.  And  the  angel  of  God,  which 
went  before  the  camp  of  Israel,  removed  and  went 
behind  them"  2;.  "And  the  angel  of  his  presence  saved 
them." — Isa.  63:9.  The  explanation  to  thus  using  the 
term  "angel"  interchangably  with  the  name  of  God  is 
thus  given:  "Behold,  I  send  an  angel  before  thee,  to 
keep  thee  in  the  way,  and  to  bring  thee  into  the  place 
which  I  have  prepared.  Beware  of  him,  and  obey  his 
voice,  provoke  him  not,  for  he  tvill  not  pardon  your  trans- 
gressions; for  my  name  is  in  him.  But  if  thou  shalt  indeed 
obey  his  voice^  and  do  all  that  /  speak,  then  I  will  be  an 
enem.y  unto  thine  enemies,  and  an  adversary  unto  thine 
adversaries"  a.  The.  authority  of  the  angel  was  the 
authority  of  God;    and  the  voice  of  the  angel  was  to  Israel 

to  1  Tim.  1 :  9-11.        a?  Gal.  3:  8-19.        yFx.  3:2,  14.        «  Ex.  13:21. 
a  Ex.  23 :  20-22. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  35 

the  voice  of  God.  In  the  light  of  the  explanation  here 
given,  the  following  is  of  force:  "This  is  he  [Moses], 
that  was  in  the  church  in  the  wilderness  with  the  angel 
which  spake  to  him  in  the  Mount  Sinai,  and  with  our  fath- 
ers; who  received  the  lively  oracles  to  give  unto  us."  .  . 
'  'Who  have  received  the  law  by  the  disposition  of  angels 
and  have  not  kept  it"  &.  Of  the  words  spoken  by  the 
angel  in  Mount  Sinai  it  is  said:  "These  words  the  Lord 
spake  unto  all  your  assembly  in  the  mount,  out  of  the 
midst  of  the  fire,  of  the  cloud,  and  of  the  thick  darkness, 
with  a  great  voice;  and  he  add.ed  no  more.  And  he  wrdte 
them  in  two  tables  of  stone,  and  delivered  them  unto 
me"  c.  Paul  says  of  this  law,  "It  was  added  because  of 
transgressions  till  the  seed  should  come  to  whom  the 
promise  was  made."  .  .  "Is  the  law  then  against  the 
promises  of  God?  God  forbid:  for  if  there  had  been  a 
law  given  which  could  have  given  life,  verily  righteous- 
ness should  hav^  been  by  the  law.  But  the  scripture 
hath  concluded  all  under  sin;  that  the  promise  by  faith 
of  Jesus  Christ  might  be  given  to  them  that  believe. 
But  before  faith  came,  we  were  kept  under  the  law,  shut 
up  unto  the  faith  which  should  afterwards  be  revealed. 
Wherefore  the  law  was  our  schoolmaster  to  bring  us 
unto  Christ,  that  we  might  be  justified  by  [the]  faith. 
But  after  that  faith  is  come,  we  are  no  longer  under  a  school- 
master'' d.  Such  is  the  apostle  Paul's  explanation  of  the 
purpose,  and  duration,  of  the  law  given  to  Israel,  (that  law 
including  the  decalogue),  and,  therefore,  the  seventh-day 
Sabbath. 

Again:  The  law  given  to  Israel,  including  the  deca- 
logue, is  called  "the  covenant,"  and  "the  words  of  the 
covenant."  Further:  "And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Write  thou  these  words:  for  after  the  tenor  of  these  words 
I  have  made  a  covenant  with  thee  and  with  Israel.      And 

b  Acts  T :  38,  53.         c  Deut.  5 :  22.        d  Gal.  3 :  19-25. 


36  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

he  was  there  with  the  Lord  forty  days  and  forty  nights; 
he  did  neither  eat  bread,  nor  drink  water.  And  he 
wrote  upon  the  tables  the  words  of  the  covenant,  the  ten 
commandments^  d.  "And  if  ye  shall  despise  my  statutes, 
or  if  your  soul  abhor  my  judgments,  so  that  ye  will  not 
do  all  my  commandments,  but  that  ye  break  my  cove- 
nant." Here  we  learn  that  "the  covenant"  included  all 
the  commandments,  the  statutes  and  judgment.  The 
tables  of  stone  upon  which  were  written  the  ten  com- 
mandments, are  called  "the  two  tables  of  the  covenant" 
e.  And  the  hooh  wherein  were  written  by  Moses,  the 
Lord's  "commandments  and  his  statutes"  and  all  "the 
words  of  this  covenant,"  was  called  "the  book  of  the 
covenant"  /,  as  also  the  "book  of  the  law;"  and 
the  Ark  wherein  the  tables  of  the  covenant  and 
the  book  of  the  covenant  were  deposited  by  the 
priests,  was  called  "the  ark  of  the  covenant"  g.  To 
engage  in  idolatry  and  thus  violate  the  second  command- 
ment, was  to  break  the  covenant:  "Then  will  they  turn 
unto  other  gods,  and  serve  them,  and  provoke  me,  and 
break  my  covenant"  h.  Likewise  to  "covet"  was  a  trans- 
gression of  "the  covenant  of  the  Lord"  i.  To  observe 
the  passover,  was  to  keep  the  covenant  of  the  Lord — 
'  'Keep  the  passover  unto  the  Lord  your  God,  as  it  is 
written  in  the  book  of  this  covenant"  y.  When  Israel,  as 
a  nation,  broke  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  as  found  writ- 
ten in  the  book  of  the  law,  God  visited  the  iniquities  of 
the  fathers  on  the  children,  and.  this  peculiar  procedure, 
is  based  on  the  second  commandment  of  the  decalogue: 
'  'Go  ye,  enquire  of  the  Lord  for  me,  and  for  the  people, 
and  for  all  Judah,  concerning  the  words  of  this  book  that 
is  found;  for  great  is  the  wrath  of  the  Lord  that  is  kin- 
dled against  us,  because  our  fathers  have  not  hearkened  unto 

dEx.  34:27,  28.  eDent.  9:15.  /2  Kinscs  23:  3,21;  22:  8. 

g  Deut.  32:  26.        h  Deut.  31 :  20.        i  Josh.  7:  15,  21. 

^"2  Kings  23:  21. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  37 

the  words  of  this  hook,  to  do  according  unto  all  that 
which  is  written  concerning  us"  k.  Rebellious  Israel 
broke  the  covenant  of  the  Lord  in  allowing  the  uncir- 
cumcised  in  heart  and  flesh  to  minister  in  the  sanctuary 
at  the  altar  I:  '^And  the  king  stood  by  a  pillar,  and 
made  a  covenant  before  the  Lord,  to  walk  after  the 
Lord,  and  to  keep  his  commandments  and  his  testi- 
monies and  his  statutes  with  all  their  heart  and  all  their 
soul,  to  perform  the  words  of  this  covenant  that  were 
written  is  this  hook.  And  all  the  people  stood  to  the  cov- 
enant" m.  To  refuse  to  liberate  the  Hebrew  servant,  in 
the  year  of  release,  was  to  transgress  the  covenant  of 
<jrod,  made  with  Israel  when  he  ''brought  them  forth  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondmen"  n. 
While  the  typical  features  of  the  covenant  were  of  great 
importance,  there  were  other  matters  pertaining  thereto 
that  were  far  more  important,  yet  these  less  important 
matters  were  part  of  the  covenant,  or  law  o. 

Having  thus  briefly  summarized,  under  the  term 
^'covenant,"  that  we  may  understand  what  the  Bible 
writers  meant  when  referring  to  it;  and  having  found 
that  the  first  covenant  included  the  entire  law  given  to 
Israel,  including  the  decalogue,  with  all  the  command- 
ments, statutes,  and  judgements,  we  can  better  compre- 
hend just  what  was  superseded  by  ''the  new  covenant;" 
and  we  have  found  that  those  writers  recognized  the 
"covenant"  and  "the  law"  as  being  identical,  and  that  it 
is  a  unity.  By  the  law  the  service  of  God  was  regulated, 
in  all  its  requirements,  and  by  the  law  was  the  relations 
of  society  regulated,  and  by  the  law  was  the  ministry 
constituted;  "For  the  law  maketh  men  high  priests." 
Now,  with  these  considerations  fully  before  us,  the  follow- 
ing is  of  force:   "For  there  is  verily  a  disannulling  [abol- 

fc  2  Kings  22:  13.      «  Ezek.  44:  6-24.      m  2  Kinare  23:  3.      nJer. 'H:13. 
oHoB.  6:  6,7;  Matt.  2-^:23. 


38  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

ishing]  of  the  commandment  going  before  for  the  weak- 
ness and  unprofitableness  thereof.  For  the  law  made 
nothing  perfect,  but  the  bringing  in  of  a  better  hope 
did;  by  the  which  we  draw  nigh  unto  God"_p.  This 
statement  of  the  apostle  indicates  a  formal  abrogation  of 
the  "first  covenant" — ''testament" — "the  law"  as  a  code, 
giving  the  reason  why; — it  was  unprofitable;  it  could  not, 
in  so  far  as  man's  eternal  welfare  was  concerned,  "make 
him  that  did  the  service  perfect,  as  pertaining  to  the  con- 
science.'' The  old  covenant  (the  law)  was  "unprofitable" 
as  a  moral  and  spiritual  code  when  compared  with,  and 
in  the  light  of,  the  glorious  gospel  that  superseded  it,, 
and,  in  that  regard,  rendered  it  useless.  Hence  "it  van- 
ished away." 

pHeb.  7:18, 19,  2S. 


3a 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE  FIRST  COVENANT  WAS  FAULTY. 

'Tor  if  that  first  covenant  had  been  faultless,  then 
should  no  place  have  been  sought  for  the  second.  For 
findmg  fault  with  them,  he  saith.  Behold,  the  days  come, 
saith  the  Lord,  when  I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with 
the  house  of  Israel  and  with  the  house  of  Judah"  q.  We 
have  cited  evidence  to  show  that  the  covenant  comprised 
the  entire  law  as  a  code — decalogue,  rites  and  ceremonies 
— with  whatever  degree  of  morality  attached  to  them; 
also  that  the  ten  commandments,  when  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  law,  is  inoperative,  and  absolutely  use- 
less, because  they  lack  the  elements  necessary  to  their 
execution.  In  this  division  of  the  subject  we  present 
some  additional  considerations  illustrative  of  the  state- 
ment above  quoted,  as  follows:  That  element  in  the  law 
representing  God  ''visiting  the  iniquities  of  the  fathers 
upon  the  children"  r,  and  that  gave  rise  to  the  proverb 
in  Israel,  '  'The  fathers  have  eaten  sour  grapes  and  the 
children's  teeth  are  set  on  edge,"  is  "found  fault  with," 
and  at  the  introduction  of  the  new  covenant  it  ceased; 
for,  '  'every  one  shall  die  for  his  own  iniquity,  every  man 
that  eateth  the  sour  grape.  Ids  teeth  shall  be  set  on  edge." 
T,he  occasion  for  using  this  proverb  in  Israel  is  admitted, 
(Ezok.  18:  1-3),  but  in  "those  days"  of  "the  new  cove- 
nant" they  should  use  it  no  more  s.  Again:  "Ye  have 
heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt 
not  kill;  and  whosoever  shall  kill  shall  be  in  danger  of 
the  judgment"  t.     Under  that  law  a  man  might  hate  his 

gHeb.8:7,8.        rEx.20:5.        s  Jer.  31 :  29,  30.        <  Mutt  5:  21. 


40  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

brother,  be  angry  with  him,  bring  charges  of  vanity  or 
of  being  a  fool,  and  yet  no  conviction  of  sin  could  be  had 
till  the  act  of  murder  or  killing  had  been  done.  But 
under  the  new  covenant  this  law  supersedes  it:  *'But  I  say 
unto  you,  that  whosoever  is  angry  with  his  brother  with- 
out a  cause  shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment:  and  who- 
soever shall  say  to  his  brother,  Raca,  [vain  fellow] ,  shall 
be  in  danger  of  the  council:  but  whosoever  shall  say  to 
his  brother.  Thou  fool,  shall  be  in  danger  of  hell  fire"  u. 
Moreover,  according  to  the  requirement  of  the  "better 
testament,"  when  a  man  so  acts  as  to  offend  his  brother 
in  the  least,  his  offering  or  service  to  God  is  not  accept- 
able, till  reconciliation  is  made  v.  And  this:  "Ye  have 
heard  that  it  was  said  by  them  of  old  time,  Thou  shalt 
not  commit  adultery:"  But  as  a  moral  ai:d  spiritual — a 
gospel — precept,  its  great  lack  is  plainly  seen  by  noticing 
closely  that  which  annuls  it  and  takes  its  place  as  gospel 
law,  viz. :  '  'But  I  say  unto  you,  That  whosoever  looheth 
on  a  woman  to  lust  after  her  hath  committed  adultery 
with  her  already  in  Jus  heart' '  w.  Likewise  the  following: 
"Ye  have  heard  that  it  hath  been  said.  An  eye  for  an 
eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a  tooth."  Thus  "the  law"  allowed 
the  course  of  human  nature.  A  man  could  resist  [retal- 
iate] evil,  and  "hate"  his  "enemy."  It  also  admitted  of 
revenge.  Nor  is  anything  herein  to  be  construed  to  con- 
travene the  letter  or  spirit  of  the  decalogue,  for  no  vio- 
lation of  the  law  in  these  things  can  be  shown  by  it,  and 
by  it  they  are  allowable  so  long  as  it  stands  unrepealed 
as  a  law.  But,  under  the  law  of  Christ,  we  are  to 
"resist  not  evil;"  "turn  the  other  cheek  also;"  "love 
your  enemies;  bless  them  that  curse  you;  do  good  to 
them  that  hate  you;  and  pray  for  them  that  despitefully 
use  you,  and  persecute  you"  x. 

By  the  old  covenant  no  one  was  guilty  of  the  sin  of 

u  Matt.  5  :  22.      v  verses  23,  24.       w  verses  26, 27.      x  verses  38-44. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  41 

murder  till  he  had  killed  some  one.  But,  under  the  new, 
"whoso  hateth  his  brother  is  a  murderer"  i/.  The  diffi- 
culty with  the  law,  then,  as  here  brought  out,  is,  it  was 
too  ^^weak!^  to  ''''condemn  sin^  in  its  inception  in  the  hearty 
and  it  was  therefore  necessary  for  Christ  to  establish  the 
law  condemning  evil  in  the  conception  of  man:  "For  out 
of  the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts^  murders,  adulteries,  for- 
nications, thefts,  false  witness,  blasphemies:  these  are 
the  things  which  defile  a  man"  z. 

But  we  notice  further,  that,  in  a  gospel  sense,  the  cov- 
enant or  law  contained  not  ^^the  righteousness  of  faith  f 
and  the  "Gentiles,  which  followed  not  after  righteous- 
ness" by  doing  "the  works  of  the  law,"  nevertheless 
attained  to  "the  righteousness  ■  of  faith"  by  obeying  the 
gospel,  while  the  Jews  who  sought  after  righteousness 
(or  the  law  of  righteousness)  "%  the  worJcs  of  the  law,^^ 
failed  a.  "The  law  is  not  of  faith"— Gal.  3:  12.  "But 
now  the  righteousness  of  God  without  the  law  is  mani- 
fested, being  witnessed  by  the  law  and  the  prophets"  b. 

Justification  to  life  comes  not  by  the  law;  for,  "by  the 
deeds  of  the  law  there  shall  no  flesh  be  justified  in  his 
sight."  "Therefore  we  conclude  that  a  man  is  justified 
by  faith  without  the  deeds  of  the  law."  "Knowing  that 
a  man  is  not  justified  by  the  works  of  the  law,  but  by 
the  faith  of  Jesus  Christ"  c.  "Be  it  known  unto  you 
therefore,  men  and  brethren,  that  through  this  man 
is  preached  unto  you  the  forgiveness  of  sins;  and  by  him 
all  that  believe  are  justified  from  all  things,  from  ivhich 
ye  could  not  he  justified  hy  the  law  of  Moses^^  d. 

Nor  will  the  future  inheritance  of  the  Saints  be 
obtained  by  the  law,  "For  the  promise,  that  he  should 
be  the  heir  of  the  world,  was  not  to  Abraham,  or  to  his 
seed^  through  the  law,  but  through  the  righteousness  of 

y  1  John  3:  14,  15;  4:  20.  z  T?om.  8:  2.  3;  Matt.  15:  19. 

a  Koin.  9 :  3U.  :i2.      b  Rom .  8 :  -2 1 .      c  1  Join.  3 ;  20-28 : 

Gal.  2:16.        dAct8l3:3'J. 


42  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

faith.     For  If  tbey  which  are  of  the  law  be  heirs,  faith  is 
made  void,  and  the  promise  of  none  effect."     Again:  "For 
if  the  inheritance  be  of  the  law,  it  is  no  more  of  promise: 
but  God  gave  it  to  Abraham  by  premise"  e.    By  a  careful 
comparison  of  the  epistle  to  the  Romans  with  that  to  che 
Galatians,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  same  law,  or  covenant, 
is  referred  to.     The  identity  of  idea  is  plainly  proven  by 
the  foregoing  scriptures  from  the  two  letters  quoted. 
The  law  commented  on  by  Paul  in  Romans  is  admitted 
by  the  most  zealous  advocates  of  the  seventh-day  Sab- 
bath, to  be  the  law  including  the  decalogue,  and  is  there- 
fore the  law  "received  by  the  disposition  of  angels" — 
* 'ordained  by  angels.'*     It  is  the  law  that,  in  the  days  of 
Moses  "entered  that  the  offence  might  abound,"  and  that 
was  given   of  God  to  Israel  "four  hundred  and  thirty 
years"  afier  the  covenant  of  the  gospel  with  Abraham; 
and  that  was  "added"  to  the  gospel  (which  was  offered 
to  the  Jews  at  the  exodus)/,  ^^till  the  seed  should  come." 
It  "was  the  schoolmaster  to  bring"  Israel  unto  Christ 
that  they^  with  the  Gentiles,  might  be  justified  by  faith. 
"But  after  that  faith  [the  faith  revealed — the  gospel]  is 
come,  we  are  no  longer  under  a  schoolmaster  '  g.     It  could 
not  justify  from  sin ;    is  not  of  faith;    does  not  produce 
the  righteousness  of  God,  in  a  gospel  sense;  cannot  con- 
stitute us  inheritors  in  Christ,  nor  can  it  give  life.     But 
it  worked  "wrath."     "For  I  was  alive  without  the  law 
once:  but  when  the  coTiimamhnent  came,  sin  revived^  and  I 
died.      And  the  commandment  which  was  ordained  to 
life,  I  found  to  be  unto  death"  h.      It  is  "the  letter"  that 
"killeth;"     "the    ministration    of    death,    written    and 
engraven  in  stones"  i. 

In  using  the  phrases  "commandment,"  and  "the  law," 
interchangably,    when    referring    to    the   law   in    the 

e  Rom.  4:  13.  14;  Gal.  3:  18.       /Hnh.  4:  2.       5^  Rom.  5 :  1^30 ; 
Gal.  3 :  17-25.       h  Rom.  7 ;  9, 10.       i  2  Cor.  3 :  6,  7. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  43^ 

foregoing     statement,    Paul    is    but    following    divine 
precedent.       The    term    "commandment"    is    used    to 
comprehend   all   the  law  given  to  Israel  j.      Peter    calls 
"the    way    of    righteousness"  .   .   "the   holy   command- 
ment f'  and  he  is  evidently  referring  to  the  gospel  in  all 
its  comprehensiveness  h.      And  with  this  additional  fact 
before  us,  as  we  study  the  contrast  between  the  law  and 
the  gospel,  "the  word  spoken  by  angels,"  and  the  "great 
salvation"  which  "began  to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord, "  is- 
graphically  set  forth  by  the  writer  of  the  letter  to  the 
Hebrews  in  this  inspired  statement :   '  'For  there  is  verily 
a  disannulling  of  the  commandment  going  before,  for  the 
weakness   and  unprofitableness   thereof.       For   the   law 
made  nothing  perfect,  but  the  bringing  in  of  a  better 
hope  did,  by  which  we  draw  nigh  to  God. "    This  enforces, 
with  all   the  power  of  an  inspirational  declaration,  the 
abolishment  of  the    law,  and  doubly  convinces  us  of  its 
abrogation,  relegating  it  to  the  domain  of  civil  govern- 
ments, where  the  penalties  for  its  violation  may  still  be,. 
and  are,   administered,   so  far  as  the  elements  that  it 
possessed  relating  to   civil  matters    are  concerned;    (1 
Tim.  1:  9).      And  the  gospel,  as   a  code  of  moral  and 
regenerative  principles  and  religious  guidance,  as,  "the 
law  of  the  Lord  [that]  is  perfect  converting  the  soul^^^  takes 
its  place.     For,  "In  that  he  saith,  A  new  covenant,  he 
hath  made  the  first  old.     Now  that  which  decayeth  and 
waxeth  old  is  ready  to  vanish  away"  I. 
.  Lest  I  be  thought  somewhat  harsh  in  this  exhibit  of 
"fault"  found  with  the  decalogue,  I  quote  the  following 
statements  found  in  "Thoughts  on  the  Revelation,"  by 
Elder   U,    Smith,    third   edition,    a  work    approved   by^ 
Seventh-Day  Adventists  generally.     It  reads:  "The  first 
three  commandments  mention  the  word  God;    but  we 
cannot  tell  from  these  who  is  meant;  for  there  are  multi- 

^"  Ex.  25:  22;  34:3.2.        7c  2  Peler  2:  21.        THeb.  7:  18;  8:  13. 


44  THE  OHKISTIAN  SABBATH. 

tudes  of  objects  to  which  this  term  is  applied.  There  are 
'gods  many  and  lords  many,'  as  the  apostle  says  in 
1  Corinthians  8:  5.  Passing  over  the  fourth  command- 
ment for  the  time  being,  the  fifth  contains  the  words 
Lord  and  Grod,  but  does  not  define  them;  and  the  remain- 
ing five  precepts  do  not  contain  the  name  of  G-od  at  all. 
Now  what  shall  be  done?  With  that  portion  of  the  law 
which  we  have  examined,  it  would  be  impossible  to  con- 
vict the  grossest  idolater  of  sin.  The  worshiper  of 
images  could  say,  This  idol  is  my  god,  his  name  is  G-od, 
and  these  are  his  precepts.  The  worshiper  of  the  heav- 
enly bodies  could  also  say.  The  sun  is  my  God,  and  I 
worship  him  according  to  this  law.  Thus,  without  the 
fourth  commandment,  the  decalogue  is  null  and  void  so 
far  as  it  pertains  to  enforcing  the  worship  of  the  true 
God"  m.  The  above  is  stronger,  perhaps,  than  any 
imperfection  we  have  noted  in  the  decalogue,  and  is  an 
admission  that  nine  out  of  the  ten  commandments,  are 
''null  and  void  so  far  as  it  pertains  to  enforcing  the 
worship  of  the  true  God"  is  concerned.  But,  when  the 
fourth  commandment  is  included  with  the  nine,  does  the 
decalogue  then  "enforce  the  worship  of  the  true  God"? 
The  first  two  commandments  prohibit  bowing  to  or  loor- 
shiping  idols,  but  do  not  enjoin  worship  at  all.  The  fourth 
commandment  enjoins  the  keeping  of  the  seventh  day  of 
the  week  "holy,"  but  it  contains  not  one  word  as  to 
what  it  is,  or  how  "to  keep  it  holy,"  except  in  one  regard, 
and  that  is,  "in  it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work''  It  does 
not  enjoin  or  define  any  manner  of  worship  whatsoever, 
unless  the  suspension  of  all  action  be  "holy,"  and  is  wor- 
ship to  God.  The  decalogue,  including  the  fourth  com- 
Tnandment,  does  not  enjoin  prayer,  assembling  for  song 
or  preaching  service,  says  not  a  word  about  giving  alms, 
•does  not  once  mention  charity,  contains  not  the  remotest 

m  p.  160. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  45^ 

hint  about  rewards  for  right  doing,  either  in  this  world 
or  that  to  come,  or  punishments  either.  But  why  pro- 
long this  examination  of  the  decalogue? 

God  chose  Israel  as  a  nation,  and  for  a  purpose.  That 
purpose  could  not  be  accomplished  through  them  as  a 
nation  without  law — a  law  suited  to  their  condition  as  a 
nation  among  nations  on  the  earth.  That  law  was  the 
law  given  to  them  at  Sinai,  in  all  its  entirety.  The  destiny 
designed  of  G-od  in  them  under  the  law,  was  attained  at 
the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  through  whom  God  gave  the 
gospel  through  which  ^''life  and  immortality"  is  "brought 
to  light."  And  the  destiny  that  God  designed  in  the. 
nation  having  been  accomplished,  the  end  obtained,  the 
law  that  was  ordained  and  suited  to  the  peculiar  condi- 
tion of  Israel  and  designed  to  bring  about  the  desired 
end  being  now  no  longer  of  use,  as  a  code,  reached  an 
end  and  passed  away.  And  so  the  Savior  when  he  came 
announced:  "Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  destroy  the 
law,  or  the  prophets.  /  am  not  come  to  destroy^  hut  to  ful- 
fill.'' "The  law,"  as  here  treated  of  by  the  Savior, 
includes  the  regulation  on  divorcement,  and  also  the 
statutes  on  justice — "an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for 
a  tooth" — as  the  connection  shows  n.  Jesus  came  to  ful- 
fill that  law,  even  all  of  it,  and  the  prophets  too.  The 
word  "fulfill"  applies  to  the  law  just  in  the  same  sense 
in  which  it  applies  to  the  prophets.  It  is  admitted  that 
Jesus  fulfilled  the  ceremonial  department  or  division  of 
the  law,  in  the  sense  of  completing  it,  and  therefore  abol- 
ished it,  brought  it  to  an  end.  A  part  of  Jesus'  mission 
then,  was  to  bring  the  law  to  an  end,  as  a  religious  code, 
and  establish  the  gospel.  If  the  word  '  'fulfill"  as  applied 
to  the  ceremonial  law  means  "to  complete;  to  bring  to  a 
close,  end,  finish,"  as  defined  by  Webster,  Greenfield  and 
others,  could  the  same  word,  used  by  the  same  speaker 

nMatt.  5:  17,  31,  38. 


46  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

(not  in  the  same  connection  merely,  hut  at  one  and  the 
same  time)  mean  something  else  when  used  respecting  the 
other  portions  of  the  same  law? 

When  slavery,  as  an  institution  in  the  United  States, 
was  abolished,  of  necessit}^  all  laws  then  existing  and 
designed  to  regulate  it,  were  ever  after  useless  and  ful- 
filled. So  it  was  with  the  Israel itish  institution.  Jesus 
-came  to  bring  the  "commonwealth"  of  Israel  to  an  end, 
and  of  course  the  law  that  governed  that  commonwealth 
was  no  longer  of  use.  But  while  Jesus  taught  the  dis- 
ciples that  he  came  to  fulfill  the  law,  he  also  taught  that 
"it  is  easier  for  heaven  and  earth  to  pass,"  than  "one 
tittle  of  the  law  to  fail"  o,  'Hill  all  he  fulfilled:'  This 
latter  statement  of  our  Savior  shows  that  he  understood 
that  all  the  law  would,  in  the  future  from  the  opening  of 
his  ministry,  "be  fulfilled,"  completed,  ended,  its  pur- 
pose being  served.  So  when  the  work  was  done  he  said: 
"These  are  the  words  which  I  spake  unto  you,  while  I 
was  yet  with  you,  that  all  things  must  be  fulfilled,  which 
were  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  and  in  the  prophets, 
and  in  the  Psalms,  concerning  me"  p.  At  the  cross,  then, 
ivas  the  law  given  to  Moses  fulfilled,  giving  way  to  the 
"perfect  law,"  the  "law  of  liberty,"  the  "better  hope," 
the  "better  covenant,"  that  was  '^hased  on  better  prom- 
ises." "For  he  is  our  peace,  who  hath  made  both  [Jew 
and  Gentile]  one,  and  hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall 
of  partition  between  us;  having  abolished  in  his  flesh  the 
enmity,  even  the  law  of  commandments  contained  iii 
ordinances;  for  to  make  in  himself  of  twain  one  new  man, 
so  making  peace;  and  that  he  might  reconcile  both  unto 
God  in  one  body  oy  the  cross,  having  slain  the  enmity 
thereby"  g.  "The  law  of  commandments  contained  in 
ordinances"  that  is  here  said  to  be  abolished,  is.  in  the 
-Hebrew  letter,  thus  referred  to:   "Then,  verily,  the  first 

o  Luke  16:  17.       p  Luke  24:  44.        3  E;  h  2:  14-16. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  47 

covenant  had  also  ordinances  of  divine  service,  and  a 
v^^orldly  sanctuary"  r.  In  that  sanctuary  was  the  arl:,  in 
which  was  "the  tables  of  the  covenant."  But,  by  all 
that  appertained  to  that  first  covenant,  the  sanctuary 
and  all  that  was  therein,  "the  way  into  the  holiest" 
according  to  the  gospel,  "was  not  made  manifest  while 
the  first  tabernacle  was  yet  standing,"  hence  the  service 
was  only  "imposed  on  them  until  the  time  of  reformation^^'' 
then  "Blotting  out  the  handwriting  of  ordinances  that 
was  against  us,  which  was  contrary  to  us,  and  took  it 
out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to  his  cross;  and,  having 
spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  he  made  a  show  of 
them  openly,  triumphing  over  them  in  it.  Let  no  man 
therefore  judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect 
to  an  holy  day,  or  of  the  new  moon,  or  the  sabbath  days; 
which  are  a  shadow  of  things  to  come;  but  the  body  is  of 
Christ"  s.  By  the  phrase  ^^ handier iting  of  ordinances," 
Paul  speaks  quite  peculiarly.  He  does  not  here  say  "the 
law  of  ordinances,"  or  "commandments."  Some  special 
authority  must  be  referred  to  as  attaching  to  this  "hand- 
v/riting  of  ordinances;"  and  after  careful  consideration 
of  the  matter  I  have  concluded  that  reference  is  here 
made  to  the  law,  not  only  as  copied  by  Moses  and  others 
after  him,  but  to  the  authority  belonging  to  it  by  virtue 
of  having  been  originally  written  by  the  hand  of  God,  or 
his  angel,  thus:  "And  the  tables  were  the  work  of  God, 
cind  the  writing  was  the  writing  of  Gocl^  graven  upon  the 
tables"^.  "And  the  statutes,  and  the  ordinances^  AND 
the  law,  and,  the  commandment^  which  he  wrote  for  you,  ye 
shall  observe  to  do  forever  more;  and  ye  shall  not 
fear  other  gods"  it.  "And  the  Lord  said  unto  Moses, 
Come  up  to  me  into  the  mount,  and  be  there;  and  I  will 
give  thee  tables  of  stone,  and  a  law,  and  commandments 

rUeb.  9:  1,8-10.      s  Col.  2:  14-17.      <  Ex.  34:  16.      m  2  KiLgs  IT:  37. 


48  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

which  I  have  written;  that  thou  inayest  teach  them"  v. 
By  these  texts  we  learn  that  God  wrote  ''a  law  and  com- 
mandments^''  also  "the  statutes,  and  the  ordinances ^^^  for 
Israel.  And,  surely,  no  one  would  controvert  the  fact 
that  these,  all  together,  constitute  "the  handwriting  of 
ordinances,"  nor  deny  that  they  include  "the  law  of 
commandments" — the  ten  commandments  with  the  Sah- 
hath  thereof. 

At  the  cross,  then,  the  law,  including  all  these  stat- 
utes, ordinances,  holy  days,  and  commandments,  as  a 
code  of  religious  law,  was  "annulled,"  "fulfilled,"  "bro- 
ken down,"  "taken  out  of  the  way,"  "abolished,"  "blot- 
ted out,"  "nailed  to  the  cross,"  "cast  out,"  and  Christ 
became  '  'the  end  of  the  law  for  righteousness  to  them  that 
believe"  w. 

As  long  as  the  law  was  in  force,  not  only  our  Sav- 
ior, but  the  prophets  also,  enjoined  the  most  strict 
observance  of  all  its  rites,  ceremonies,  ordinances  and 
commandments.  This  no  one  who  believes  that  the 
Bible  contains  the  word  of  the  Lord  questions  in  the 
least.  A  few  examples  are  here  cited.  Moses  says: 
'  'Ye  shall  walk  in  all  the  ways  which  the  Lord  your  God 
hath  commanded  you,  that  ye  may  live"  x.  Isaiah 
exhorts  Israel  to  keep  the  Sabbath  holy  that  their  '  'burnt 
offerings"  at  the  altar,  and  "their  sacrifices,"  may  be 
acceptable  to  God,  and  they  be  fed  "with  the  heritage  of 
Jacob"  their  father  y.  For  the  disobedience  of  Israel, 
Jeremiah  denounced  against  them  "a?^  the  words  of  this 
covenant,  which"  God  commanded  them  to  do,  "but  they 
did  them  not"  2;.  When  Israel  had  ^[forgotten  the  law  of 
their  God^''  and  failed  to  keep  it  as  he  designed,  pervert- 
ing the  ^''holy  offerings"  ordained  of  God  a,  he  said  he 
would  forget  her  children,  and  "also  cause  all  her  mirth 

»  Ex.  24:12.         w  Rom.  10:4.         xDeut.  5:32.         ylsa.  56:1-6; 
58:13,14.       «Jer.  11:8.       a  2  Chron.  35:  13. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  49 

to  cease,  her  feast  days,  her  new  moons,  aiid  7ier  sahhaths, 
and  all  her  solemn  feasts  ^  h. 

On  this  subject  Isaiah  addresses  Israel  touching  their 
apostasy  and  the  ultimate  cessation  of  the  requirem.ents 
of  the  law  given  of  God  to  them :  '  'Hear  the  word  of  the 
Lord,  ye  rulers  of  Sodom;  give  ear  unto  the  law  of  your 
God,  ye  people  of  Gommorrah.  To  what  purpose  is  the 
multitude  of  your  sacrifices  unto  me?  saith  the  Lord:  I 
am  full  of  the  burnt  offerings  of  rams,  and  the  fat  of  fed 
beasts;  and  I  delight  not  in  the  blood  of  bullocks,  or  of 
lambs,  or  of  he  goats.  "When  ye  come  to  appear  before 
me,  who  hath  required  this  at  your  haads,  to  tread  my 
courts?  Bring  no  more  vain  oblations;  incense  is  an 
abomination  also  unto  me;  the  new  moons  and  sabbaths, 
the  calling  of  assemblies,  I  cannot  away  with;  it  is 
iniquity,  even  jour  solemn  meeting^'  c. 

•  It  is  well  to  notice  that  both  Hosea  and  Isaiah  connect 
the  ordinances,  and  the  Sabbaths  here  referred  to,  with 
*'thc  law  of  your  God,"  when  thus  addressing  Israel;  and 
by  reference  to  the  book  of  Leviticus  d,  we  discover  that 
*'the  feasts"  which  Israel  were  to  "proclaim  to  be  holy 
convocations,"  to  be  "^Ae  feasts  of  the  Lord,^'  were,  first, 
"the  seventh  day  is  the  sabbath  of  rest,  an  holy  convo- 
cation;" second,  "the  Lord's  passover,"  on  "the  four- 
teenth day  of  the  first  month,"  followed  by  "seven  days"" 
of  unleavened  bread,  including  two  first-day  sabbaths, 
and  an  offering  daily  of  beasts;  third,  the  "statute"  of 
the  offering  of  the  first  fruits  of  harvest;  fourth,  Pente- 
cost, with  all  attendant  offerings;  fifth,  the  "memorial" 
of  "trumpets,"  the  first  day  of  the  seventh  month;  sixth, 
atonement  day;  and  seventh,  the  feast  of  tabernacles. 
And  ''^beside  the  sabbaths  of  the  Lord,'^  the  seven  days  har- 
vest-feast. Thus  we  see  the  Lord  includes  the  seventh - 
6  Hos.  2: 11 ;  4 ;  6.        c  lea.  1 :  10-13.        d  Lev.  chapter  23. 


50  •  THE  CHRISTIAN  SAliJBATH. 

day  Sabbath,  and  its  offerings,  in  the  list  that  he  inspired 
the  prophets  to  predict  would  cease. 

Paul  says  they  ceased  at  the  cross.  The  same  power 
or  authority  that  ordained  the  law,  had  the  right  to 
abrogate  it.  But  so  long  as  the  law  was  binding  on 
Israel,  Malachi,  with  the  other  prophets,  exhorted  them 
to  "Remember  ye  the  law  of  Moses  my  servant,  which  I 
commanded  unto  him  in  Horeb  for  all  Israel,  with  the 
statutes  and  judgments"  e.  So  also  did  Christ/.  And 
while  it  is  a  fact  that  Jesus  observed  the  law,  to  the  com- 
pletion of  it,  he  also  taught  and  exemplified  the  higher 
law — the  gospel — wJiich  indmled  and  retained  all  the  moral 
and  religious  elements  found  in  ^^the  (aw,^^  and  these  were 
generally  found  in  that  higher  law,  on  which  hung  all 
the  law  and  the  prophets.  That  this  is  true,  is  seen  by 
the  comparison  of  what  he  taught  his  disciples  as  Ms  law, 
with  "the  law,"  as  in  Matthew  chapter  five,  and  Luke 
chapter  six,  etc.  His  law  made  the  hatred  of  a  brother 
*'murder;"  fasting  to  be  seen  of  men  "hypocrisy;"  ^^covet- 
ousness,''  to  be  '^idolatry;''  and  a  lustful  look,  "adultery." 
To  love  ones  "neighbor"  only,  made  one  no  better  than 
other  "sinners."  His  law  forbids  profanity.  The  deca- 
logue does  not.  His  law  makes  the  ' ''thoughts''  of  evil 
doing,  sin.  The  one  is  the  law  of  coercion;  the  gospel 
is  the  LAW  OF  LOVE  and  incentive — love  to  God  and  man. 
"The  goodness  of  God"  leadeth  to  right  doing,  and  "think- 
eth  no  evil."  Christ,  the  Redeemer,  having  come  to 
usher  into  effect  the  law  of  the  reign  of  peace,  "the  law 
of  faith,"  of  righteousness  and  truth  and  grace,  in  fulfill- 
ment of  the  promises  made  to  the  faithful  long  before  the 
times  of  the  law^,  accomplished  the  work  assigned  him. 
He  was  the  second  Adam — "last  Adam."  In  Adam  the 
first,  the  head  of  the  natural  race,  under  "the  law,"  "all 
died."    In  "the  last  Adam,"  the  representative  head  of 

«  Mai.  4:4.     /M. It.  5:  19;  8:4;  Luke  5:  14;  2:2:  7,  8.      ^  John  8:  56. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  51 

the  regenerated  race — under  his  law  all  are  to  be  made 
alive  h.  The  law  of  "grace  and  truth"  having  been  intro- 
duced, established  and  ratified  by  the  Savior's  death  and 
glorious  resurrection,  and  by  his  death  ^^the  ministration 
of  death^  written  and  engraven  in  stones,"  having  been 
^'slain"i,  it  is  thence  that,  after  the  cross,  the  law  is  no 
more  enjoined. 

The  new  covenant  being  established,  and  embracing 
^'the  law  of  the  spirit  of  life,"  those  who  avail  themselves 
of  the  high  and  holy  privileges  of  that  divine  institution 
are  no  longer  bound  by  the  terms  of  the  old  covenant, 
are  no  longer  under  obligation  to  observe  the  letter  of  the 
law,  as  a  religious  guide,  "But  now  we  are  delivered  from 
the  law,  that  being  dead  [slain]  wherein  we  were  held; 
that  we  should  serve  in  newness  of  spirit,  and  not  in  the 
oldness  of  the  letter"  y.  And  hence  it  is  that  Paul 
affirms  the  ministry  of  "the  new  testament, "  were  not 
constituted  ministers  of  "the  letter,"  a  "slain,"  a  "(fear?" 
law!  A  law  that  while  in  force  killed  only — "the  letter 
Mlleth."  "But  our  sufficiency  is  of  God;  who  also  hath 
made  us  able  ministers  of  the  new  testament" /j^. 

By  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  and  the  establishment 
of  the  new  covenant,  all  who  accept  Christ  as  the  Savior, 
are  begotten  to  the  hope  of  living  again,'  in  endless  glory. 
A  kingdom  of  "righteousness,  peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost,"  "a  spiritual  house,"  "a  chosen  generation,  a 
royal  priesthood,  a  holy  nation,  a  peculiar  people,"  "to 
offer  up  spiritual  sacrifices"  to  God,  and  "acceptable  to 
Jesus  Christ,"  was  established,  "to  the  intent  that  now 
unto  the  princvpalities  and  powers  in  heavenly  places  might 
he  Imown  hy  the  church  the  manifold  wisdom  of  God." 
Because  that  "^Ae  law  having  a  shadow  of  good  things  to 
come,  and  not  the  very  image  of  the  things,  can  never 

h  John  1 :  4:  Roto.  5:  17-19:  1  C.>r,  15:  45,  46.        i  2  Cor  3:  7; 
Eph.  2:15,  16.       j*  Rom.  7:  6.        &2Cor  3:6,7. 


#' 


52  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

with  those  sacrifices  which  they  offered  year  by  year 
continually  make  the  comers  thereunto  perfect.  For 
then  would  they  not  have  ceased  to  he  offered?  .  .  .  because 
that  the  worshipers  once  purged  should  have  had  no 
more  conscience  of  sin"y.  "Above  when  he  said,  Sacri- 
fice and  offering  and  burnt  offerings  and  offerings  for  sin 
thou  wouldst  not,  neither  hadst  pleasure  therein,  which 
are  offered  by  the  law.'^  Hereby  we  learn  that  it  was  "the 
law"  that  cast  the  "shadow"  of  "good  things  to  come," 
and  that  the  "offerings  for  sin"  were  "by  the  law." 
When  the  substance  or  "body,"  the  gospel  is  reached,  the 
types  or  shadow  are  no  longer  of  use.  And  because  the 
law  could  not,  in  part  or  in  whole,  "take  away  sins,"  but 
only  memorialize  it,  God  had  no  "pleasure  therein,"  and 
therefore  annulled  it.  The  shadow  will  remain  as  long 
as  the  law  casting  it  remains  binding.  Please  remember 
that  "the  law"  here  referred  to  is  "the  first  testament" 
and  "the  first  covenant"  of  the  previous  chapter  of  the 
letter  to  the  Hebrews;  and  the  covenant,  as  we  have 
already  learned,  has  for  its  basis  the  ten  commandments. 
Moreover,  it  is  assumed  that  the  decalogue  is  the 
supreme,  unchangeable,  eternal  law  of  G-od,  and,  that 
the  ceremonial  law  was  the  law  "added  because  of  trans- 
gression till  the  seed  should  come  to  whom  the  promise 
was  made,"  and  that  it  was  done  away  by  Christ,  leaving 
the  decalogue  still  of  force,  and  that  therefore  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  fourth  commandment  is  now  binding.  So 
far  as  "burnt  offerings"  and  attendant  ceremonies  are 
concerned,  are  not  the  intimations  of  the  Bible  more 
favorable  to  the  idea  that  they  existed  before  the  deca- 
logue was  formulated  at  Sinai?  All  the  patriarchs  who 
lived  prior  to  the  exodus,  so  far  as  history  shows,  offered 
typical  sacrifices,  beginning  with  Abel.  And  further; 
if  the  ceremonial  law  is  "the  law"  that  "entered,  that 

j  Heb.  10 :  1,  2,  8. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  63 

the  offence  might  abound, '.'  as  stated  in  Romans,  chapter 
five,  it  is  the  law  that  is  afterward,  in  the  same  letter, 
said  by  Paul  to  be  designed-  to  cause  sin  to  ^'"become 
exceeding  sinful^ ' '  and  also  the  law  that  is  holy^  just  and 
good!  h.  That  law  by  which  comes  ''the  knowledge  of 
sin;"  that  law,  of  which  Paul  further  argues,  "Yea,  we 
establish  the  law"  I.  But  this  position  could  not  be 
admitted  for  a  moment  by  the  seventh-day  Sabbath 
advocate,  for  by  so  doing  he  admits  that  the  law  con- 
taining the  Sabbath  is  abolished.  But  such  is  the  log- 
ical deduction  from  their  chosen  premise.  The  fact  is, 
their  attempt  to  divide  the  law  by  that  line  of  reasoning 
is  solely  an  assumption,  and  the  attempt  to  prove  the 
perpetuity  of  the  decalogue  thereby  fails.  That  the 
apostle  Paul  does  refer  to  the  same  law  in  the  Roman 
letter  he  does  in  that  to  the  Galatians  is  evident,  for  he 
quotes  the  same  text  in  both  epistles  thus:  "For  Moses 
describeth  the  righteousness  which  is  of  the  law,  that  the 
man  that  doeth  those  things  shall  live  in  them"  m.  "And 
the  la IV  is  not  of  faith,  but,  the  man  that  doeth  them 
shall  live  in  them."7i.  Can  the  same  word  "law" 
found  in  the  same  text,  when  used  by  the  same 
writer,  on  two  different  occasions  be  construed  to 
signify  that  two  distinct  laws  are  meant?  More 
than  this,  when  the  prophet  Ezekiel  reproved  the 
children  of  Israel  for  not  observing  that  same  law 
referred  to  by  Moses  and  Paul,  he  included  not  only  the 
"statutes"  and  the  "judgments,"  but  the  Lord's  ^^sah- 
hath''  alsoo.  Thus  does  the  testimony  of  Ezekiel  and 
Paul  concur  in  applying  the  statement  of  Moses  to  ''the 
law''  as  a  whole,  statutes,  judgments,  and  that  which  the 
Lord  calls  "my  sabbaths."  And  the  Holy  Ghost  was 
the  inspirer  of  all  three. 

&  Rom.  5:  20:  7: 12, 13.        ?chap.3:31.       mRom.lO:5. 
n  Gal.  3: 12;  Lev.  18:  5.       o  Ezekiel  20:  21. 


54  THE  CHKIISTIAN  SABBATH. 

Of  the  law  thus  identified  as  including  the  Lord's  Sab- 
baths, Paul  says  to  those  in  the  new  covenant,  "For  ye 
are  not  under  the  law,  but  under  grace."  What  then? 
Shall  we  sin,  because  we  are  not  under  the  law,  but  under 
grace?  God  forbid"  p.  And  why?  Answer — "Where- 
fore, my  brethren,  ye  are  become  dead  to  the  law  by  the 
body  of  Christy  that  ye  should  be  married  to  another,  even 
to  him  who  is  raised  from  the  dead,  that  we  should  bring 
forth  fruit  unto  God.'' 

J?  Rom.  6:  14,  15;  7:4. 


65* 


CHAPTER  VII. 

•      THE  WEEKLY  SABBATH. 

It  is  denied  that  Paul  referred  to  the  weekly  Sabbath- 
when  affirming  the  "blotting  out  the  handwriting  of 
ordinances,"  because  it  is  classed  with  the  meats  and 
drinks  and  "the  new  moons,"  etc.  But  in  doing  this  the 
apostle  but  follows  the  precedents  of  the  prophets  and 
authorized  teachers  of  the  law,  as  the  following  references 
conclusively  show.  Moses,  through  whom  the  law  was 
given,  so  classes  the  Sabbath  of  the  law,  as  we  have 
seen  q:  "And  he  said.  Wherefore  wilt  thou  go  to  him  to- 
day? it  is  neither  new  moon,  nor  sahhatli'  r.  Solomon 
says,  "And  for  the  burnt  offerings  morning  and  evening^ 
on  the  sabbaths,  and  on  the  neiv  moons,  and  on  the  solemn 
feasts  of  the  Lord  our  God.  This  is  an  ordinance  forever 
to  Israel"  s.  "And  to  offer  all  burnt  sacrifices  unto  the 
Lord  in  the  sabbaths,  in  the  new  moons,  and  ON  the  set 
feasts"  t.  Here  "the  set  feasts"  include  every  legal 
Sabbath  except  the  weekly  Sabbath,  and  hence  "the  sab- 
baths" of  the  text  are  the  weekly  Sabbaths.  For  the 
writer  to  say  "the  sabbaths,"  meaning  the  annual  Sab- 
bath, and  then  in  the  same  breath  to  use  the  phrase  "set 
feasts"  with  reference  to  the  same  days,  would  be  a 
species  of  tautology  hardly  chargeable  to  an  inspired 
historian,  unless  the  one  was  used  as  an  expletive  of  the 
other.  Such  is  not  the  case  here.  But  further:  "Even 
after  a  certain  rate  every  day,  offering  according  to  the 
commandment  of  Moses,  on  the  sabbaths,  and  on  the 
new  moons,  and  on  the  solemn  feasts,  three  times  in  the 

q  Lev.  23 :  3,  5,  16,  etc.        r  2  Ki  n sjs  4 :  23.        s  2  Chron.  2 :  4. 
tl  Cliron.23:31. 

55 


56  THE  CHKiSTlAIN  SABBATH. 

year,  even  in  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread,  and  in  the 
feast  of  weeks,  and  in  the  feast  of  tabernacles"  u.  "And 
the  burnt  offerings  for  the  sabbaths,  and  for  the  new 
moons,  and  for  the  set  feasts,  as  it  is  written  in  the  law 
of  the  Lord''  v.  The  distinction  between  the  weekly  Sab- 
baths, and  the  set  or  solemn  feasts — annual  Sabbath — is 
by  these  texts  plainly  indicated,  yet  these  writers,  like 
the  apostle  Paul,  associate  the  weekly  Sabbaths  with  the 
new  moons,  and  set  feasts. 

The  prophet  Amos  attaches  the  same  degree  of  sacred- 
ness  to  the  new  moon  as  he  does  to  the  Sabbath,  saying, 
"When  will  the  new  moon  be  gone,  that  we  may  sell 
corn?  and  the  Sabbath,  that  we  may  set  forth  wheat"  w. 
Likewise  Isaiah,  placing  it  with  the  Sabbath  among  the 
memorials  of  the  age  to  come:  '  'And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  from  one  new  moon  to  another,  and  from  one  sab- 
bath to  another,  shall  all  flesh  come  to  worship  before 
me,  saith  the  Lord"  x.  And  so  the  apostle,  in  the  Col- 
ossian  letter,  following  the  foregoing  examples,  associ- 
ates the  weekly  Sabbaths  of  "the  law  of  the  Lord"  with 
the  other  holy  days,  "wew;  moons,''  meats  and  drinks, 
affirming  that  all  these  were  blotted  ouc,  "took  it  out  of 
the  way,  nailing  it  to  his  cross,"  because  it  "was  against 
us,"  and  "contrary  to  us"  y. 

In  what  respect  was  the  law  "against,"  and  "contrary 
to  us?"  It  was  national,  enacted  especially  for  the  nation 
brought  out  of  Egypt,  "out  of  the  house  of  bondage," 
and  more  especially  was  the  decalogue  so  designed  z. 
Being  national,  it  was  a  civil — ecclesiastical  law.  This 
no  one  will  deny.  In  its  very  nature  and  intention  it 
could  apply  to  no  other  people,  seeing  no  other  nation 
was  so  brought  out  of  Egyptian  bondage.  It  is  the 
"titleji'  of  any  given  law,  or  code  of  law,  that  determines 

M^Chron.  8:  13.       v  2  Ctiron.  31 :  3.       w  Amos  8:  5.        a;  lea.  66:23. 
y  Col.  2:  14-17.        z  Ex  20:  2;  Deut.  5:  6,  15. 


THE  CHRISTIAISr  SABBATH.  57 

its  application.  God,  who  brought  Israel  out  of  Egypt, 
''out  of  the  house  of  bondage,"  foreknew  the  future  con- 
ditions of  his  chosen  people  and  what  he  designed  to 
accomplish  through  them,  and  so  determined  and  suited 
his  enactments  for  them^^from  his  right  hand  went  a 
fiery  law /or  them^  ...  even  the  inheritance  of  the  congre- 
gation of  JacoV^  h.  And  thus  was  it  designated  that 
Israel  was  the  cAose/i  people,  ''above  all  people  that"  were 
"upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth"  c.  It  will  be  well  to  note 
that  Moses,  when  making  this  statement,  was  instruct- 
ing Israel  with  special  reference  to  the  principles  of  the 
decalogue  against  idolatry.  Now,  Israel  being  so  cho- 
sen of  God  above  all  other  people,  were,  by  all  the  cir- 
cumstances and  the  peculiar  law  given  to  them,  "^'^p- 
arated"  .  .  .  ''''from  all  other  people."  "For  thou  didst 
separate  them  from  among, all  the  people  of  the  earth,  to 
be  thine  inheritance,  as  thou  spaJcest  by  the  hand  of  Moses 
thy  servant,  when  thou  broughtest  our  fathers  out  of 
Egypt,  O,  Lord,  God"  d. 

By  the  law  given  to  Israel  was  the  distinction  between 
them  and  the  Gentile  world  maintained,  and  hence  it 
became  necessary  for  Christ  to  nullify  the  cause  of  this 
distinction — separation — that  was  created  at  the  exodus 
and  that  discriminated  "against"  all  other  people,  and 
thus  take  this  '^middle  wall  of  partition  between  us"  down. 

Another  respect  in  which  the  law  was  "against"  us, 
and  "contrary"  to  us  was,  that  so  long  as  it  remained,  in 
force  there  could  be  no  such  thing  as  the  forgiveness  of 
sin;  hence,  repentarice  was  not  an  element  of  the  law.  It 
was  a  law  of  absolute  justice,  without  any  intermingling, 
of  mercy.  When  a  willful  or  "presumptuous"  sin  was 
committed,  the  law  was  inexorable;  the  sinner  must  be 
put  to  death.  "Because  he  hath  despised  the  word  of 
the  Lord,  and  hath  broken  his  commandment,  that  soul 

h  D.ut.  3  5:  1-4.        c  Deut.  7:6.       d  1  Kings  8:  63. 


68  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

shall  utterly  be  cut  off;  his  iniquity  shall  be  upon  him" 
e.  If  the  sinner  did  "the  like  to  any  one  of"  the  things 
contrary  to  the  law,  he  was  "guilty  of  all,"  his  blood 
should  be  upon  him/.  "He  that  despised  Moses'  law 
died  without  mercy  under  two  or  fhree  witnesses"  (/. 

When  the  nation  of  Israel  or  any  individual  of  it  sinned 
ignorantli/y  the  law  provided  a  substitute — the  life  of  a 
beast,  instead  of  the  life  of  the  transgressor — and  an 
atonement  was  thus  made  in  a  typical  sense,  or,  in  a 
figure.  But  in  this  there  was  no  more  of  real  forgiveness 
than  the  transfiguration  of  Christ  upon  the  mountain  was 
the  second  advent  of  Christ  in  glory — in  fact.  Those 
typical  offerings  but  memorialized  sin,  annually,  pointing 
forward  to  the  great  antitypical  sacrifice  to  be  offered 
for  the  race  in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  God's  Son, 
"who  through  the  eternal  Spirit  offered  himself  without 
spot  to  God,"  to  ^ ''purge  your  conscience  from  dead  works  to 
serve  the  living  God.  And  for  this  caur.e  he  is  the  medi- 
ator of  the  new  testament,  that  by  means  of  death,  for 
the  redemption  of  the  transgressions  that  were  under  the  first 
testament^  they  which  are  called  might  receive  the  prom- 
ise of  eternal  inheritance"  7i.  "But  in  those  sacrifices 
there  is  a  remembrance  again  made  of  sins  every  year. 
For  it  is  not  possible  that  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of  goats 
should  take  away  sin.  Wherefore  when  he  cometh  into 
the  world,  he  saith.  Sacrifice  and  offering  thou  wouldst 
not,  but  a  body  hast  thou  pre2:>ared  me.  .  .  .  Then  said  he, 
Lo,  I  come  to  do  thy  will,  O  God.  He  taketh  away  the 
first,  that  he  may  establish  the  second.  By  the  which 
will  we  are  sanctified  through  the  offering  of  the  body 
of  Jesus  Christ  once  for  all"  i. 

The  Israelites  alone  were  under  the  law.  The  Gentile 
nations  were  not  placed  under  its  rule.     Under  it,  as  we 

eNum.  15:  30,  31.       /Ezek.  18:  10-13;  Janius  2:  10.       ^  tieb.  10:  28. 
h  Heb.  9:  14,  15.        i  Ucb.  10:  3-5,  9,  10. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  5» 

have  shown,  there  was  no  future  rewards.  Its  penalty 
was  death.  It  provided  no  remedy  for  sin  in  fact,  but 
only  in  figure.  Now  it  is  proposed  by  the  advocates  of 
the  seventh-day  Sabbath  to  abolish  that  part  of  the  law 
(the  ceremonial)  that  provided  for  the  substitution  of  the 
life  of  the  beast  for  the  sin  of  ignorance,  which  allowed 
the  sinner  the  continuation  of  this  life,  and  no  more,  and 
perpetuate  the  decalogue,  which  they  affirm  is  perfect, 
have  it  incorporated  into  the  new  covenant;  for  by  the 
new  covenant,  say  they,  or  under  it,  G-od  will  write  the 
ten  commandments  in  the  heart,  instead  of  on  the  tables 
of  stone,  and  thereby  procure  pardon  for  the  transgres- 
sion of  it.  If  a  circle  be  perfect,  to  add  anything  to  it 
renders  it  imperfect.  To  add  anything  in  any  way  to  a 
perfect  dollar  according  to  the  authorized  standard,  ren- 
ders it  useless.  To  add  the  ten  comir^a^idments  to  the 
gospel  would  not  change  their  effects^  unless  there  was  a 
change  in  their  intention  by  the  Lawgiver.  To  assert 
that  the  ten  commandments  are  the  perfect  and  immu- 
table moral  law  of  God^  and  then  say  that  their  intention^ 
office,  or  effects,  under  any  circumstance  whatever,  can  he 
changed,  is  a  glaring  inconsistency,  and  a  contradiction 
in  logic. 

Now,  we  have  seen  that  under  the  law  (the  law  includ- 
ing the  decalogue)  the  effects  were  temporal — on  the  ona 
hand  long  life — on  the  other,  no  remission — but  death, 
"without  mercy,"  Therefore  to  combine  the  decalogue, 
unchanged  in  any  respect,  whatever,  with  the  gospel, 
will  not  alter  its  effects — reward  and  penalty — an  iota. 
To  make  it  of  universal  application  is  to  bind  its  effects-: 
upon  all  nations.  And,  to  make  it  a  part  of  the  new 
covenant — "the  everlasting  covenant" — would  be  to  ren- 
der its  intended,  effects  everlasting.  And  "as  there  is  no 
man  that  sinneth  not"y,  "there  is  none  that  doeth  good,, 

^"1  Kings  8:  46. 


m^  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

BOj  7iot  one^  Jc,  but  all  are  under,  sin,  and  "the  wages  of 
sin  is  death;"  there  is  therefore  no  salvation  for  anyone- 
hereafter,  so  long  therefore,  as  this  immutable  law  of. 
the  unchangeable  God  is  in  force  and  unrepealed,  death 
only  awaits  the  race! 

'^But,"  say  they,  ''God  has  transferred  the  commis- 
sion of  execution  of  the  penalty,  from  men  to  the  hands- 
of  the  Savior,  and  from  this  age  to  the  judgment  day." 
Then  the  original  intention  of  the  unchangeable  God  in 
ordaining  this  immutable  law  was,  that  the  Son  should 
execute  hereafter  the  penalty  for  breaking  this  law,  and, 
that  the  penalty  should  be  ^^ sorer"  i  than  isi  simply  death 
here,  at  the  hands  of  a  fellow  mortal.  Then  God  varied 
just  a  trifle  from  the  original  intention  in  the  establish- 
ment of  the  covenant  with  Israel  at  Sinai!  For  under  it 
man  executed  the  penalty!  This  position  involves  three 
changes.  One  in  God,  and  two  in  his  moral,  perfect,  im^ 
mutable  law!  A  change  on  his  part  with  respect  to  the 
time  of  executing  the  penalty;  a  change  from  man  to  his- 
Svn  in  the  execution  of  the  penalty;  also  a  change  of  the 
de<jree  of  intensity  of  the  penalty,  withth.Q  change  of  the 
time  and  agency  of  its  execution!  But  to  add  to  the  pen- 
alty a  "sorer  punishment"  than  death  at  the  hands  of 
our  fellows,  is  really  a  change  of  the  penalty,  and  there- 
fore a  further  change  of  the  law — tlie  immutable  law!! 
Such  are  the  logical  conclusions  deducible  from  the 
grounds  offered  us  by  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  advo- 
<3ates. 

Asa  constitutional  basis  to  the  commonwealth  of  Israel, 
in  its  intended  place  and  time,  it  was  "good,"  carrying 
on  its  bosom  its  just  judgments,  statutes  and  precepts, 
given  of  God  to  Israel;  it  was  "holy"  as  a  "schoolmaster" 
leading  Israel  up  to  Christ  and  "the  narrow  way;" 
enforcing  its  types  and  shadows  it  was  "spiritual."    But 

k  Rom.  3: 12.       i  Heb.  10:  29. 


THE  CHRlSTlAxV  SABBATH.  61 

SO  far  as  providing  a  remedy  for  sin  was  concerned,  it. 
provided  none;  hence  when  the  Savior  came  he  gradu- 
ally and  cautiously  (among  the  Jews)  introduced  the  long 
promised  covenant  of  peace  (the  law  of  ''''grace  and  truthJ') 
that  as  gradually  annulled  the  law  (the  first  covenant), 
he  living  and  dying  under  it.  But  in  his  death  he  struck 
it  a  fatal  blow,  slaying  it  and  forever  blotting  it  out,  that 
the  law  wherein  the  remedy  for  sin  was  provided  might 
be  established;  that,  whereas  sin  abounded  by  reason  of 
the  Mosaic  law,  the  law  of  faith  and  grace  might  much 
more  abound. 


i)'2 


CHAPTER     VIII. 

THE  COVENANT— THE  TEN  COMMAND- 
MENTS. 

In  order  to  save  the  ten  commandments  from  abolition 
with  the  covenant  that  was  taken  away,  it  is  strenuously 
maintained  that  theij  are  not  in  reality  a  part  of  the  cove- 
nant made  v'ith  Israel,  and  written  in  the  book;  that 
while  the  book  contained  the  covenant  made  with  Israel, 
the  decalogue  was  God's  commanded  covenant  to  Israel; 
and  that,  therefore,  the  abrogation  of  the  ''first"  cove- 
nant did  not  carry  with  it  the  ten  commandments.  We 
-quote:  ''Concerning  the  term  'covenant'  we  must  express 
our  surprise  that  any  should  take  so  limited  views  of  the 
•subject  as  to  conclude  that  Grod's  covenant  commanded  to 
them  by  his  own  voice,  is  identical  with  that  covenant  or 
agreement  made  with  them  through  Moses  as  the  medi- 
ator"y.  That  this  position  is  an  assumption^  and  opposed 
to  the  Bible  on  this  point,  the  following  from  Moses,  the 
mediator  of  the  covenant,  demonstrates:  "And  the  Lord 
said  unto  Moses,  Write  thou  these  words:  for  after  the 
tenor  of  these  words  I  have  made  a  covenant  loitJi  thee 
and  with  Israel,  .  .  .  And  he  wrote  upon  the  tables  the 
words  of  the  covenant,  the  ten  commandments"  h.  "The 
Lord  our  God  made  a  covenant  with  us  in  Horeb.  The 
Lord  made  not  this  covenant  with  our  fathers,  hut  icith 
us^  even  us,  who  are  all  of  ue  here  alive  this  day"  I.  By 
this  statement  Moses  refers  to  the  place  where^  and  the 

j  Signs  oftJie  Times,  Editorial,  Aug.  10  b,  1882,  p.  351.    k  Ex.  34:  27,  38. 

I  Dent   ^:  2.  3. 

62 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  63 

''time"  when,  this  covenant  was  made,  also  with  whom; 
and  then  to  show  what  he  meant  by  the  ''covenant"  he 
proceeds  to  identify  the  decalogue  with  it,  as  an  integral 
part  thereof,  by  quoting  the  ten  commandments  at 
length  and  saying  that  this  is  "the  covenant"  God  made 
'  ''witli  us. ' ' 

Solomon  thus  understood  this  subject,  for  he  says: 
"And  I  have  set  there  a  place  for  the  ark,  wherein  is  the 
covenant  of  the  Lord,  which  he  made  with  our  fathers,  when 
he  brought  thsm  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt"  m.  Was  "the 
hooJc  of  the  covenant' '  in  the  ark,  at  the  time  of  the  dedi- 
cation of  the  temple?  Yes;  for  "there  was  nothing  in 
the  ark  save  the  two  tables  of  stone,  which  Moses  put 
there  at  Horeb,  when  the  Lord  made  a  covenant  with  the 
children  of  Israel,  when  they  came  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt"  n.  On  the  taoles  of  stone,  then,  was  written 
"the  covenant"  which  God  ^^made  with  Israel,"  or  the 
constitutional  basis  of  it,  at  least.  And,  as  we  have 
before  found,  to  break  one  of  these  basic  laws,  was  to 
break  the  covenant,  or  be  "guilty  of  all." 

But  the  ten  commandments  were  copied  into  the  book 
of  the  covenant,  with  the  statutes  and  judgments,  and  it 
is  to  the  book  we  are  indebted  for  the  copy  of  them  we 
now  have  in  the  Bible,  and  it  was  ''^concerning  all  these 
words''  that  God  made  a  covenant  with  Israel.  "Moses 
came  and  told  the  people  all  the  tcords  of  the  Lord,"  and 
''^ wrote  all  the  words  of  the  Lord,"  and  called  the  writing 
"the  book  of  the  covenant"  o.  The  ten  commandments 
are  a  part  of  the  covenant  that  God  made  with  Israel  at 
Sinai,  therefore,  and  being  (as  is  admitted)  in  their 
nature  adapted  to  a  government  theocratic  in  form  and 
nature,  to  a  government  at  once  ecclesiastical  and  civil, 
they  as  formulated  at  Sinai  could  be  adapted  to  no  other 
iorm  of  government;  and  so  far  as  any  other  covenant, 

m  1  KiLgs  8:  21.        n  Veise  8.        o  Chapters  20,  21,  22,  23,  and  24:  1-8. 


64  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

or  form  or  nature  of  government  is  concerned,  are  inop- 
erative and  useless.  Under  their  operation,  there  is  no 
* 'reconciliation  for  iniquity;"  repentance  is  not  provided 
for;  the  transgressor  must  die  ^ 'without  mercy. "  Hence, 
to  transfer  the  ten  commandments  to  the  gospel  covenant 
would  but  destroy  the  effects  of  the  atonement  and  defeat 
the  purpose  of  God  intended  by  the  mediation  of  Jesus 
Christ.  So  we  read:  "Christ  is  become  of  no  effect  unto 
you,  whosoever  of  you  are  justifieil  by  the  law;  ye  are 
fallen  from  grace"  p.  "But  Israel,  which  followed  after 
the  law  of  righteousness,  hath  not  attained  to  the  law  of 
righteousness.  Wherefore?  Because  they  sought  it  not 
by  faith,  but  as  it  were  hi/  the  icorks  of  the  laiv.  For  the}^ 
stumbled  at  that  stumblingstone"  q.  And  since  all  are 
under  sin — for  "all  have  sinned" — and  since  the  law  says 
the  sinner  must  die,  therefore,  if  the  law  has  been  trans- 
ferred to  the  new  covenant,  it  is,  of  course,  a  part  of  its 
conditions,  and  then  the  new  covenant  is  no  better  than 
the  old.  In  fact,  it  were  but  a  re-enactment,  or  a  renewal 
of  the  old  covenant,  and  not  a  new  one  at  all.  It 
is  therefore  no  better  than  before.  It  visits  "the 
iniquities  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  unto  the 
third  and  fourth  generation,"  according  to  its  own  terms 
r.  In  the  nature  of  the  law  the  promises  of  the  renewed 
covenant  are  no  better  than  before,  for  the  basis  is  the 
same.  And  since  all,  both  Jew  and  G-entile,  "have 
sinned,"  all  must  irretrievably  die!  Moreover,  if  the  law 
of  the  ten  commandments,  "written  and  engraven  in 
stones,"  are  "transferred"  to  "the  new  covenant' '  and  in- 
corporated thereinto,  Christ  and  his  ministry  are  con- 
stituted ministers  of  "the  ministration  of  death."  For 
the  law  is  of  no  use,  whatever,  unless  preached  and  ad- 
ministered, and  this  is  a  positive  contradiction  of  what 
the  apostle  Paul  says  of  the  ministry  of  Christ  and  the 

p  Gal.  5:4.       3  Rom.  9:32.       rExyu:5. 


THE  CFlPvISTIAISr  SABBATH.  65 

nature  of  their  services.  And  thus  the  gospel — ^'new 
covenant,"  and  "the  spirit" — ^is  bearing  along  in  its 
'bosom  the  law  that  works  wrath,  "the  ministration  of 
death,  written  and  engraven  in  stones,"  but  now  "trans- 
ferred" and  written  "in  the  hearts"  of  all  who  embrace 
the  new  covenant;  for  when  the  commandment 
comes  "sin"  revives,  and,  as  all  are  sinners,  all  die.  A 
transfer  of  the  law  does  not  change  the  nature  of  it.  It 
simply  places  the  law  in  a  position  and  relati'on  where  it 
can  eternally  magnify  sin  and  destroy  the  sinner!  As 
sin  was  only  atoned  for  typically,  under  "the  ministra- 
tion of  death"  so  mediation  was  typical.  And  to  consti- 
tute it  a  cardinal  element  in  the  new  covenant  would  be 
to  exalt  it  to  a  position  where  it  {so  reenforced)  could 
nuJlify  all  the  mediation  of  Christ  in  fact.  Hence  Paul 
denies  that  the  ministry  of  the  new  covenant  are  consti- 
tuted ministers  of  "the  letter" — the  law  that  "killeth" — 
"the  ministration  of  death,  written  and  engraven  in  stones.^' 
^^That  which  is  done  away^ — ^'^aholished^^—hSbS  for  its  ante- 
cedents, "the  ministration  of  condemnation"  "the  minis- 
tration of  death,  written  and  engraven  in  stones,"  even 
the  ten  commandments,  which  were  the  base,  life  and 
force,  of  the  law  of  the  common  weal  tlj  of  Israel.  And  it 
follows  that,  as  long  as  the  cause  of  that  "glory,"  or 
"glorious"  ministration,  continues  to  operate,  the  effect — 
the  "glory" — remains.  And  if  it  becomes  a  part  of  the 
better  covenant,  even  the  "glory"  abides  and  increases^ 
instead  of  being  "abolished"!  t. 

DECALOGUE   NOT   TRANSFERRED   TO   THE   NEW 
COVENANT. 

V 

From  the  foregoing  considerations  we  conclude  that 
the  decalogue  is  not  transferred  to  the  new  covenant, 
nor  from  the  tables  of  stone  to  the  hearts  of  the  Saints. 

«2Cor.  3:6,  7.         <3  Cor.  3:7. 

5 


66  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

But  that  '^in  Christ"  the  "vail  is  done  away,"  so  that  al 
in  him  can  see  ^^ to  the  end  of  that  which  is  abolished;'^  car 
see  that  "Christ  is  the  e7id  of  the  law  for  righteousness  tc 
every  one  that  believeth,"  and  are  able  to  see  plainlj 
that  Paul  shows  there  is  a  marked  distinction  betweer 
"the  righteousness  which  is  of  the  law,"  and  "the  right- 
eousness which  is  of  faith."     The  one  speaks  of  this  life 
only,  while  the  other  speaks  of  the  life  to  come  through 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  dead  u;    alsc 
that  by  obedience  to  the  law  of  faith  they  ^'conclude 
with  Paul  "that  a  man  is  justified   by  faith  loithout  thi 
deeds  of  the  law''  v.     And  further;    those  in  Christ  ar^ 
able  to  see  that,  since  the  law  and  the  prophets   ^^wit- 
nessed' '  to  the  righteousness  of  God  through  the  gospel 
without  the  deeds  of  the  law;    and,   as  Christ  came  in 
fulfillment  of  their  witness  or  testimony,  that  testiniony 
is  established  as  being  divine.  In  his  argument  on  Christ's 
coming  in  fulfillment,  and  as  being  the  end  of  the  law, 
Paul  says,  "Yea,  we  establish  the  law''  w.      In  his  argu- 
ment with  the  Jews  in  demonstrating  that  Jesus  came, 
by  the  evidence  of  the  law  he  j^^oves  its  truthfulness  and 
its  divinity.     It  is  only  in  this  sense  that   Paid  could 
"establish  the  law,"  just  as  any  other  minister  would 
establish   the  truth  of  any  prophecy,    or  evidence,   by 
exhibiting  the  fact  testified  to. 

Paul,  an  apostle  inspired  of  God,  would  not  presume  to 
"establish"  the  law,  in  the  sense  of  ordaining  and  caus- 
ing it  to  go  into  effect,  authoritatively,  especially  if  the 
claim  that  the  law  was  established  by  God  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world  be  true! 

THE    NEW   COVENANT. 

Our  Savior  when  on  earth  offered  the  gospel  (the  new 
covenant)  to  the  house  of  Judah,  but  as  a  "house"  they 

tt  Rom.  10:  4,  5,  6.        vRjm.  3:28.         w  Rom.  3:  31. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  67 

rejected  it  x.  But  God  is  yet  to  7nake  a  covenant  icifh 
both  "the  house  of  Israel  and  the  house  of  Judah,"  and 
it  will  be  when  the  two  houses  become  a  party  to  the 
covenant.  Paul  places  this  in  the  future  from  his  day  y, 
at  the  fullness  of  the  Grentile  times.  Jesus  says,  "Jeru- 
salem shall  be  trodden  down  of  the  Grentiles,  until  the 
times  of  the  Gentiles  be  fulfilled"  z.  Jerusalem,  and  the 
Holy  Land  are  not  yet  fully  delivered  from  the  power  of 
the  Gentiles,  but  the  time  is  surely  near  at  hand  when 
God's  covenant  will  be  sent  "out  of  Zion,"  to  all  Israel, 
and  ungodliness  be  turned  away  from  Jacob,  and  their 
sins  be  taken  away  to  be  remembered  no  more.  The 
"new  covenant"  is  to  be  made  with  that  same  Israel  and 
Judah  whose  fathers  God  brought  out  of  Egypt,  and  it  is 
not  to  be  like  the  covenant  made  with  their  fathers,  for 
God's  "law  of  the  Spirit  of  life"  is  to  be  written  in  their 
hearts,  and  as  a  result  they  are  to  '"'know''  God,  "from 
the  least  of  them  to  the  greatest  of  them."  Then  their 
sins  will  be  forgiven  in  fact^  a,  and  as  a  final  result  the 
"two  houses"  of  Israel  will  be  united  into  one  kingdom, 
no  more  to  be  divided.  For  this  covenant,  is  to  "be  an 
everlasting"  one  6.  At  that  time  God  "will  give  them 
one  heart,  and  one  way,''  nor  shall  they  after  depart  from 
God  c.  And  let  us  be  assured  of  this  one  thing,  at  the 
time  this  "everlasting  covenant"  is  made  with  Israel, 
the  law  of  the  former  covenant  will  form  no  part  or  ele- 
ment of  it,  for  thus  testifies  the  word  of  the  Lord,  saying, 
"Turn,  O,  backsliding  children,  saith  the  Lord;' for  I  am 
married  unto  you:  and  I  will  take  you  one  of  a  city,  and 
two  of  a  family,  and  I  will  bring  you  to  Zion;  and  I  will 
give  unto  you  pastors  according  to  mine  heart,  which 
shall  feed  you  with  knowledge  and  understanding.     And 

a;Jn<).  1:11:  Matt.  23:36-?.9;  Rom.  9:  31,  32.         y  Bivn.  1\:  2o-27. 

z  Luke  21 :  24.        a  ,h'.r.  31 :  :M-:^4.        b  EzU.  37:  21-26. 

c  Jer.  32:  39,40. 


68  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  ye  be  multiplied  and  increased 
in  the  land,  i7i  those  days^  saith  the  Lord,  they  shall  say  no 
mor€j  The  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord;  neither  shall  it 
come  into  mind;  neither  shall  they  remememher  it,  neither 
shall  they  visit  it,  neither  shall  that  be  done  any  more. 
At  that  time  th^y  shall  call  Jerusalem  the  throne  of  the 
Lord;  and  all  the  nations  shall  be  gathered  unto  it,  to 
the  name  of  the  Lord,  to  Jerusalem;  neither  shall  they 
walk  any  more  after  the  imagination  of  their  evil 
heart"  d. 

The  pastors  herein  promised  will  not  be  teachers  of 
the  seventh -day  Sabbath.  They  could  not  advocate  it 
and  not  have  the  ark  "come  into  mind,"  nor  "remember 
it  not."  This  prophecy  could  not  have  been  fulfilled  at 
any  time  prior  to  the  first  advent  of  Christ,  for  the  law 
preserved  in  "the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord"  was 
then  the  governing  law,  and  the  ark  was  had  in  continual 
remembrance  for  that  reason.  In  ancient  Israel  "the 
ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord"  was  considered  to  be 
the  symbol  of  God's  presence  and  power,  an  emblem  of 
the  strength  and  glory  of  Israel  e.  But  such  is  not  the 
case  under  the  new  covenant,  for  Christ  and  his  law — 
the  everlasting  covenant  —  are  the  embodiment  of  the 
power  and  glory  of  the  Christian  Institution. 

We  notice  one  more  text  cited  to  support  the  assump- 
tion that  the  law,  and  therefore  the  Sabbath,  is  yet  in 
force  and  binding  on  all  men.  On  one  occasion  during  the 
ministry  of  Christ,  as  he  and  the  disciples  passed  through 
the  cornfields  on  the  Sabbath  day,  the  disciples  "began 
to  pluck  the  ears  of  corn,"  and  the  Pharisees  objected, 
charging  that  such  an  act  was  "not  lawful."  The  Savior 
justified  the  act  of  the  disciples  by  citing  the  unlawful 
act  of  David  when,  he,  having  "?i6f?rZ,"  did  eat  "the  shew- 
bread,"  and  gave  of  it  to  his  associates,  "which  is  not 

d  Jer.  3:  14-17.        ePs.  78:  56-63;  1  Sam.  5:  21. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  69 

lawful  to  eat  but  for  the  priests."  The  Lord  'then  pro- 
ceeds to  teach  the  Pharisees  that  the  necessities  of  man, 
in  certain  exigencies,  were  superior  to  keeping  the  letter 
of  the  Sabbath  law,  and  that  the  Sabbath  itself  was 
intended  of  God  to  subserve  the  interests  of  those  for 
whom  made,  and  not  that  the  interests  of  the  Sabbath 
were  to  be  subserved  by  those  to  whom  given,  to  their 
disadvantage:  '^And  he  said  unto  them,  The  sabbath  was 
made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the  sabbath.  Therefore 
the  Son  of  man  is  Lord  also  of  the  sabbath"/.  Hereby 
we  learn  that  Christ,  as  Lord,  is  superior  to  the  Sabbath 
fJso. 

THE    CEREMONIAL   LAW. 

The  ceremonial  service,  in  its  requirements,  seems 
to  have  had  the  precedence  as  compared  with  the  Sab- 
bath; and  so  Jesus  cites  the  rite  of  circumcision  being 
performed  on  the  Sabbath,  that  the  law  requiring 
it  to  be  observed  the  eighth  day  might  be  kept  g, 
saying,  ''Or  have  ye  not  read  in  the  law,  how  that  on 
the  Sabbath  days  the  priests  in  the  temple  profane  [put 
to  a  wrong  use;  pollute]  the  sabbath,  and  are  blame- 
less f  h.  The  priests  worked  diligently  all  day  during 
the  sabbath,  slaughtering  and  dressing  animals  for  the 
sacrifices,  and  offering  them,  thus  profaning  the  sev- 
enth-day. The  Sabbath,  under  the  law,  seems  to  have 
been  specially  devoted  to  ceremonial  exercises  and  the 
celebration  of  "ordinances."  Two  lambs  were  killed, 
dressed  and  offered;  meat  and  drink  offerings  were  made 
also.  "This  is  the  burnt  offering  of  every  sabbath"  t. 
And  this  was  ordained  "an  ordinance  forever  to  Israel" /; 
and  in  Ezekiel  it  is  specified  that  seven  beasts  were  to  be 
slain,  prepared  and  offered  by  the  priests  on  the  Sabbath, 
at  the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  with  the  prince  and  the 

/Mark  2:  23-28.       g  Jho.  7:  23;  Lev.  12:  3.       h  Matt.  U:  5. 
t  Num.  28:  9,  10.       j  2  Chron.  2:  4. 


70  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

congregation  participating  h.  This  array  of  rites  observed 
on  the  Sabbath  surely  entitles  it  to  a  prominent  position 
in  "the  handwriting  of  ordinances"  that  was  nailed  to 
the  cross.  The  Sabbath  was  a  regular  theatre  ''of  com- 
mandments contained  in  ordinances."  Just  strip  the 
seventh  day  of  all  the  regulations,  ceremonies,  observ- 
ances and  rites  that  characterized  it,  as  provided  for  it  in 
the  ceremonial  law,  and  what  have  we  left  of  it  as  it 
stands  in  the  decalogue?  An  unconditional  injunction— a 
positive  one — to  suspend  all  exercise  sinks  into  a  condi- 
tion of  absolute  rest  both  man  and  beast,  without  an 
incentive  to  move,  or  to  encourage  its  observance;  not  a 
promised  blessing  for  obedience  to  it  relating  either  to 
this  life  or  that  to  come;  not  a  penalty  for  its  violation. 
Jesus  did  not  charge  the  Jews*  with  sin  for  seeking  to 
preserve  the  life  of  animals  when  endangered  on  the 
Sabbath  day.  Animal  life,  when  endangered,  seems  ta 
have  been  of  more  importance  than  the  letter  of  the  Sab- 
bath law  I.  Would  not  Sabbatarians  of  to-day  do  as 
much  under  like  circumstances?  Would  they  not  labor 
during  the  Sabbath  in  the  emergencies  of  flood  or  fire  to 
save  their  goods  from  destruction?  With  themselves 
and  Jesus  as  the  judges,  the  mere  letter  of  the  Sabbath 
law  is  not  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance.  From  all 
these  considerations  we  draw  the  lesson  that  the  Sab- 
bath is  not  of  greater  importance  than  man  for  whom  it 
was  made,  as  modern  Sabbatarians,  by  their  assump- 
tions, falsely  teach. 

MAN — THE    HUMAN    RACE. 

But  it  is  urged  that,  by  the  use  of  the  term  ''man,"  as- 
used  in  its  unrestricted  sense,  all  the  race  is  intended, 
and  that,  therefore,  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  all  men 
(and  domestic  beasts  of  burden,  I  suppose),  and  the  fol- 
lowing rule  from  Barrett's  Principles  of  English  Graminar 

k  Ezek.  46:  3-6.        I  Mrttt.  12:  11. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  71 

is  applied  to  the  text, — ''A  noun  without  an  adjective  is 
invariably  taken  in  its  broadest  extension,  as,  Man  is 
accountable"  m. 

This  is  not  an  ^'"invariable  rule,  however  high  the 
authority,  especially  when  applied  to  Bible  usage,  and 
the  following  examples  will  sustain  us:  When  revealing 
his  intention  to  bring  a  flood  upon  the  world  '  'the  Lord 
said :  I  will  destroy  man  whom  I  have  created  from  the 
face  of  the  earth"  ki.  If  this  statement  includes  all  the 
race,  who  will  be  saved?  Again:  "And  the  Lord  Grod 
formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into 
his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life"  o.  Are  all  men,  therefore, 
thus  directly  created  by  divine  agency  and  supplied  with 
life  miraculously  f  We  cite  one  more  passage  which 
applied  to  the  people  addressed  by  our  Savior  in  the 
text  under  consideration,  and  in  which  the  term  ^^man^ 
is  evidently  used  in  the  same  sense.  It  reads:  '^Man 
did  eat  angels'  food;  he  sent  them  meat  to  the  full" p. 
In  this  text  the  term  "man"  is  confined  to  Israel  in  the 
wilderness. 

THE  SABBATH — PART  OF  THE  LAW  GIVEN 
BY  MOSES. 

And  when  we  examine  the  subject  of  the  Sabbath, 
how  that  it  was  first  given  to  the  children  of  Israel,  in 
and  hy  command^  and  then  only  after  the  Exodus  and  in 
connection  with  law  given  to  them  after  the  gospel  had 
been  preached  to  them  and  by  them  rejected,  thus  trans- 
gressing, and  that  the  Sabbath  was  a  part  of  the  law 
"added  because  of"  that  "transgression"  q  ''Hill  the  seed 
should  come"  in  whom  all  nations  were  to  be  blessed; 
and  that  the  Sabbath  was  given  them  as  a  memorial  of 
their  deliverance  from  the  servitude  of  Egypt  by  the 

m  Hiet.  of  the  Sab  ,  J.  N.  Andrews,  p.  22.      w  Gen.  6:  7.      o  Gen.  2:  7. 
pPs.  78:25.        g  Heb.  4:  2;  Gal.  3:19;  Deut.  5:  22. 


72  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

miraculous  power  of  God  r,  also  in  consideration  of  the 
fact  that  the  Sabbath  of  the  law  was  a  "sign"  and  "a 
perpetual  covenant"  between  God  and  the  children  of 
Israel  "throughout  their  generation" — a  "sign"  to  them 
that  God  had  sr/  tified — separated  them — from  all  other 
nations  to  be  his  people  s;  and,  further,  the  fact  that  God 
did  not  enjoin  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  on  any 
other  people  than  Israel,  at  any  time,  so  far  as  the  Bible 
shows,  and,  seeing  that  the  gospel  law  does  not  enjoin 
it,  we  are  led  to  the  conclusion  that  Israel  was  "the 
man"  for  whom  "the  sabbath  was  made,"  as  he  was  the 
"man"  that  "did  eat  angels'  food." 

THE    SABBATH,    OF   NATIONAL    LAW. 

In  this  connection  let  us  carefully  note  the  fact  that 
the  law  of  which  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  was  a  part, 
was  a  naf tonal  law,  politico-ecclesiastical  in  nature;  special 
in  its  character  and  application,  applied  to  specially  cho- 
sen people  of  God,  and  constituted  a  government  by  the 
law  of  a  two-fold  nature,  in  which  the  ecclesiastical  ele- 
ment of  the  church  was  dominant.  Israel  was  a  nation 
among  nations.  God  gave  the  laws  and  supplied  or 
appointed  the  administrators.  God  chose  no  nation  as 
he  did  Israel  "since  the  day  that  God  created  man."  He 
dealt  wondrously  with  them,  manifesting  himself  to 
them  in  a  most  marvelous  manner,  and  ordained  a 
special  law,  suited  to  their  peculiar  needs  and  circum- 
stances, and  adapted  to  the  peculiar  end  he  had  in  view  t. 
That  we  are  correct  in  the  conclusion  here  reached  is 
plainly  manifested  by  the  Lord's  preamble  and  title  to  his 
unprecedented  and  momentous  act  of  giving  the  law  to 
Israel.  It  reads:  ''And  God,  spake  all  these  wo^rls,  saying, 
I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which  have  brought  thee  out  of 

rDeut.5:15.      s  Deut.  7:  16;  Ezek.  20:  11,  12,21.       <  Deut.  4:  31-iO. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  73 

the  land  of  Egypt,  out  of  the  house  of  bondage"  u.  This 
is  God's  title  to  the  law  there  and  then  given.  God  gave 
it  to  Israel,  and  for  Israel.  The  Sabbath  is  a  part  of  it. 
It  was  given  to,  and  made  for,  those  who  had  been 
brought  out  of  the  house  of  bondage  in  Egypt  by  the 
direct  agency,  supervision  and  marvelous  display  of 
God's  power  and  glory.  Now  unless  it  can  be  shown 
that  God  has  taken  that  law  as  there  ordained,  formu- 
lated and  applied  to  Israel  under  their  peculiar  circum- 
stances in  that  dispensation  as  a  politico-ecclesiasticism, 
and  appropriated  that  same  law  to  some  other  people 
and  to  a  similar  government,  for  us  to  do  so  is  to  act 
v/ithout  authority,  and  to  handle  ^'the  word  of  God 
deceitfully."  Inspiration  thus,  in  after  times,  specified 
the  intention  and  purpose  of  God  in  ordaining  and  giv- 
ing the  law  including  the  Sabbath:  "Thou  camest  down 
also  upon  mount  Sinai,  and  spakest  with  them  from 
heaven,  and  gavest  them  right  judgments,  and  true  laws, 
and  good  statutes  and  commandments;  and  madest 
known  unto  them  thy  holy  sabbath,  and  commandedst  them 
precepts,  statutes,  and  laws  by  the  hand  of  Moses  thy 
servant"  v.  Doubtless  Moses  had  as  good  understanding 
of  the  import,  spirit,  inl-ention,  and  specific  application 
of  the  law,  in  all  its  bearings,  as  any  man  that  has  ever 
written  on  the  subject,  he  being  its  mediator,  and  its 
expounder,  also  being  inspired  by  the  Spirit  of  wisdom 
of  Him  who  ordained  and  gave  the  law. 

WHEN,    WHY,    AND   TO   WHOM  THE   SABBATH 
WAS    GIVEN. 

Now,  as  to  when,  why,  and  to  whom,  the  Sabbath  was 
enjoined,  also  as  to  why  God  enjoined  it,  he  wrote: 
*'And  remember  that  thoit  wast  a  servant  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,    and  that  the   Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out 

mEx.  20:1,  2.       vNeh.  9:  13,  14. 


74  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

thence  through  a  mighty  hand  and  by  a  stretched  out 
arm;  therefore  the  Lord  thy  God  commanded  THEE  to  keep 
the  sabbath  day"  w. 

Surely,  the  foregoing  is  sufficient  evidence  to  show 
most  fully  the  Savior's  intent  and  meaning  when  he  says 
'"the  sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the 
sabbath."    It  was /or  Israel  and  to  Israel. 

w  Deut.  5:  15. 


76 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE    WEEKLY    REST    DAY    UNDER 
THE    GOSPEL. 

Having  taken  a  summary  view  of  the  seventh-day 
Sabbath  and  its  relation  to  the  covenant  made  with 
Israel  at  mount  Sinai,  also  the  reasons  why  the  Sabbath 
was  given  to  them,  and,  having  discovered  that  the 
"covenant,"  and  "law,"  of  which  it  was  a  part  and  "a 
sign;"  was  designed  for  Israel  for  a  specific  purpose; 
was  temporary;  was  imperfect  (as  compared  with  the 
gospel) ;  was  faulty,  and  that  its  piirjyose  culminated  with 
the  coming  of  Christ  and  the  establishment  of  the  '  'bet- 
ter covenant"  that  was  based  on  "better  promises"  and 
by  which  life  and  immortality  is  brought  to  light,  we 
now  turn  our  attention  to  the  appointed  weekly  rest 
day  to  be  observed  by  those  who  enter  into  covenant 
relationship  with  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  the 
mediator  of  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant,  and 
engage  to  observe  its  requirements  of  service  and  wor- 
ship. 

That  a  weekly  day  of  rest  from  secular  avocations  was 
appointed  to  be  devoted  to  worship  and  reverence  to  God^ 
in  the  capacity  of  an  assembly^  is  implied  in  the  state- 
ments of  our  Savior,  when  he  says :  ^  'And  if  he  shall  neg- 
lect to  hear  thee,  tell  it  unto  the  church;  but  if  he  neg- 
lect to  hear  the  church,"  etc.;  also;  "For  where  two  or 
three  are  gathered  together  in  my  name,  there  am  I  in 
the  midst  of  them"  x;  as  also  a  place  where  the  assembly 
«  Matt.  18:  17,20. 

75 


76  THE  CHRISTrAN  SABBATH. 

was  convened,  is  evident.    James,  addressing  the  Saints, 
says:   ''For  if  there  come  into  your  assembly,"  etc.  y. 

Paul  enjoins  this  among  other  "good  works,"  ''Not 
forsaking  the  assembling  of  ourselves  together,  as  the 
manner  of  some  is;  but  exhorting  one  another;  and  so 
much  the  more  as  ye  see  the  day  approaching,"  indicat- 
ing that  to  '  'willfully"  refuse  to  assemble  to  worship  was  to 
sin  against  the  blood  of  the  covenant,  and  that  punish- 
ment awaits  those  who  so  transgress  z.  But  what  day 
of  the  week  was  appointed  for  the  disciples  of  Christ  to 
assemble  for  worship  under  the  new  covenant?  A  new 
"leaven"  and  a  new  "lump;"  the  "new  wine"  and  the 
^'new  cloth,"  could  not  be  put  into  old  "meal,"  "old  bot- 
tles," or  the  old  "garment."  In  other  words,  the  gospel 
system  being  perfect  of  itself,  as  the  plan  of  redemption, 
could  not  with  safety  be  joined  to  any  of  the  then  exist- 
ing laws  or  systems  of  worship,  not  even  the  law 
excepted.  To  join  two  systems  of  law  together,  one  of 
which  in  its  nature  cannot  justify  man  under  any  circum- 
stance, while  by  the  other  he  may  be,  is  to  have  them 
work  "contrary,  the  one  to  the  other,"  like  the  woman 
married  to  two  husbands  without  being  divorced  from 
either  a.  Jesus,  having  been  born  "under  the  law,  to 
redeem  those  who  were  [not  are]  under  the  law,"  consist- 
ently observed  the  day  required  by  the  law,  till  its  ful- 
fillment at  his  deaths  as  he  did  the  other  requirements  of 
the  law,  such  as  circumcision,  offerings,  the  passover,  as 
also  the  feast  days.  But  after  this  most  wondrous  and 
glorious  event,  his  triumph  over  death  and  hell  h^  he 
having  conquered  this  and  the  unseen  world ^  and  having 
performed  the  grand,  central  miracle  of  the  ages,  mak- 
ing it  the  hasis  of  the  hope  of  the  inhabitants  of  both 
worlds  and  around  which  cluster  the  glory  of  all  the  dis- 

y  JameeS:  2.      z  Ueb.  10:25  26.       a  Matt  9:  16,  IT;  Rom.  7: 1-3, 10; 
Gal.j|:17.        6  Re V.  1:18. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  77 

pensations  of  divine  grace;  and  having  slain  (broken)  the 
power  of  all  systems  of  law  (as  religious  codes)  that  could 
not  justify  the  imprisoned  and  bound  sinner  c,  thus 
becoming  the  representative  head  of  the  new  creation, 
the  head  of  ''the  church  of  the  first  born,"  the  "general 
assembly"  c?,  he  thereby  rendered  the  day  of  Ms  resurrec- 
tion (the  first  day  of  the  week)  ever  memorable  to  all  who 
trust  in  Him! 

By  His  mission  into  this  world,  and  to  the  world  of 
condemned  spirits,  he  became  "both  Lord  and  Christ," 
even  "Lord  of  air'e.  But  after  that  exhibition  of  "Grod 
manifest  in  the  flesh,"  Jesus  met  no  more  with  his  fol- 
lowers to  worship  on  the  seventh  day,  so  far  as  the 
record  shows,  but  he  did  meet  with  them  on  that  day 
wherein  all  heaven  was  joyful  with  praises  because  the 
redemption  of  man  was  secured — "the  first  day  of  the 
week,"  which  by  the  common  consent  of  the  church,  was 
recognized  as  "the  Lord's  day"/.  God  had  "determined" 
the  time  "before  appointed"  for  the  resurrection  of  his 
Son,  namely,  "the  third  day"  from  the  day  of  his  cruci- 
fixion, "according  to  the  scriptures;"  hence  he  was  "the 
first  born  from  the  dead"  into  the  incorruptible  life, 
^^ that  in  all  things  he  might  have  the  preeminence.^^ 

The  Scriptures  that  the  Spirit  of  inspiration  applied  to 
the  "third  day"  from  the  crucifixion — "the  first  day  of 
the  week,"  known  to  the  Gentile  world  as  "Sunday" — 
reads  thus:  "Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten 
thee"  g.  Jesus  often  referred  to  his  rejection  by  the 
Jews  and  Gentiles,  his  death,  and  his  triumphant  resur- 
rection "on  the  third  day,"  or  "o/i^er  three  days,"  indicat- 
ing that  he  well  understood  what  "the  determinate  coun- 
sel and  foreknowledge  of  God"  had  purposed  to  bring  to- 

c  Rom.  3:  19,  20.      d  Eph.  1 :  10.      c  Ezek.  32:  21 ;  26:  20;  :t2:  22,  33; 

Rom   14:  9;  1  Pet.  4:5,  6;  ActB  10:  36;  Eph.  4:  9. 

/  Rev.  1 :  10.      g  Act*  13 :  33 ;  Heb.  5 :  5. 


78  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

pass  in  '^the  times  before  appointed"  h.  Since,  then, 
David,  Peter  and  Paul  have  applied  the  word  of  the 
Lord  to  this  day,  the  day  of  the  resurrection  of  our  glo- 
rious Lord,  no  marvel  that  the  apostle  John,  that  disci- 
ple "whom  Jesus  loved,"  should  call  that  day  "the  Lord's 
day." 

We  have  now  discovered  the  fact  that  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  our  Lord's  resurrection  day,  is  specially 
referred  to  and  designated  in  the  Scriptures  in  connec- 
tion with  the  establishment  of  the  new  covenant.  God 
pointed  out  and  devoted  that  day  to  the  resurrection, 
receiving  then  the  "first  fruits" — his  Son — "from  the 
dead."  And  fifty  days  from  that  day,  on  the  day  of  Pen- 
tecost, which  was  also  "the  first  day  of  the  week,"  dur- 
ing "a  holy  convocation"  of  the  saints,  was  the  antityp- 
ical  "wave  offering"  of  the  "first  fruits"  of  the  gospel 
harvest  offered  to  the  Lord.  And  the  evidence  of  the 
acceptance  of  the  "offering"  to  God  was  the  ringing  of 
the  antitypical  bells  on  the  robe  of  our  "great  High 
Priest" — the  endowment  of  the  saints  with  the  baptism 
-and  gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost  i,  thus  further  rendering  the 
first  day  of  the  week  ever  memorahJe  to  the  church. 

It  was  on  the  evening  of  "the  first  day  of  the  week,"  the 
^ame  day  of  our  Savior's  resurrection,  that  he  met  with 
his  disciples  to  confirm  the  fact  to  them  of  his  being 
raised  to  life/  And  on  the  next  "first  day"  Jesus  met 
with  the  assembled  disciples  again,  in  further  confirma- 
tion of  his  triumphant  resurrection  from  the  dead,  and 
to  instruct  them  regarding  the  endowment  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  and  their  work  of  che  ministry  in  carrying  the 
gospel  of  life  to  the  nations  k. 

"But,"  says  the  seventh-day  advocate,  "this  second 
meeting  was  'after  eight  days'  from  the  first  meeting. 

h  Mark  8:  33;  9:  30;  Acts  2:  23.       t  Lev.  23:  15,  16,  21 :  Ex  28:  35; 
Acts  2:1,  33,  36.        j  Jno.  20 :  19,  20.        k  verses  C6-29. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  79 

That  would  bring  that  meeting  later  along  than  the  next 
Sunday — perhaps  Monday  or  Tuesday!" 

Let  us  see.  1.  "Destroy  this  temple,  and  in  three  days 
I  will  raise  it  up"  Z.  2.  "And  be  raised  again  the  third 
dayy  3.  ^^ And  after  three  days  rise  again."  Here  are 
three  forms  of  expression  in  which  the  time  elapsing 
from  the  death  to  the  resurrection  of  Christ  is  expressed. 
But  because  the  form  of  expression  used  by  the 
Savior  himself  is,  ^^ after  three  days,"  may  we  contend 
that  Jesus  did  not  rise  from  the  dead  till  the  second  or 
thirds  instead  of  the  first  day  of  the  week!  Paul,  the 
great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  was  taught  the  gospel  by 
revelation  from  Jesus  Christ,  and  according  to  the  gos- 
pel he  taught  that  Jesus  '  'rose  again  the  third  day  accord- 
ing to  the  scriptures^''  as  much  so  as  he  affirms  that  "Christ 
died  for  our  sins  according  to  the  scriptures."  By  the 
Scriptures,  then,  the  third  day  from  the  death  of  Christ 
was  noted,  pointed  out,  and  by  the  Father  determined. 
It  was  set  apart  as  the  day  when  the  world  should  be 
begotten  "to  the  hope  of  living  again"  m.  Before  the 
conclusion  of  that  "same  day"  Jesus  met  with  his  dis- 
ciples to  demonstrate  the  fact  of  the  resurrection,  bestow 
on  them  the  divine  blessing,  give  instructions  concern- 
ing when  to  begin,  and  how;  also  as  to  the  universal 
extent  of  their  great  and  divine  mission;  also  to  open 
their  understanding  and  expound  the  Scriptures  to 
them  n.  That  was  one  of  the  most  important  confer- 
ences recorded  of  Jesus  and  his  disciples — one  wherein 
he  expounded  "the  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom." 
— Acts  1:  3.  And  notwithstanding  he  could  have  after- 
ward renewed  the  "custom"  of  convening  on  the  seventh 
^ay,  yet  he  did  not,  but  waited  till  the  next  "first  day  of 

Z  Jno.  2:19;  Ma*t  16:  21;  Mark  8:  31.        m  1  Pet.  1 :  3.        w  Luke 
24:  33-48;   Jno.  20:  19-25;  Acts  1 :  3,  4. 


80  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

the  week,"  and  then  held  another  service  with  the  dis- 
ciples. 

Passing  by  the  day  of  Pentecost,  and  leaving  these 
examples  of  our  Lord  holding  religious  services  on  ''the 
first  day  of  the  week"  after  his  resurrection,  we  next 
notice  Paul's  instructions  and  injunction  to  the  churches 
among  the  Gentiles:  "Now  concerning  the  collection  for 
the  saints,  as  I  have  given  order  to  the  churches  of 
Galatia,  even  so  do  ye.  Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week 
let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store,  as  God  has 
prospered  him,  that  there  be  no  gatherings  when  I 
come"  o. 

In  the  Church  of  Christ,  charity  and  benevolence  ar^^ 
to  be  cultivated  as  religious  duties.  The  poor  aiTion<r 
the  Saints,  as  well  as  the  families  of  the  ministry,  are  to 
be  aided  by  the  church.  In  order  to  accomplish  the 
greatest  amount  of  good  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  con- 
cerned, some  regulation  is  to  be  established  of  a  general 
character  so  that  concert  of  action  may  be  had  on  the 
part  of  the  entire  body.  A  general  treasury  is  neces- 
sary. The  contributions  of  each  individual  must  in  some 
way  reach  that  treasury.  The  apostle,  recognizing  the 
sacredness  of  this  duty  of  devoting  of  their  means  to 
the  cause  of  Christ,  enjoins  on  the  members  of  the  chmxh 
to  observe  this  among  their  religious  duties  when  assem- 
bled for  worship,  "upon  the  first  day  of  the  week," 
Hence  each  one,  on  preparing  to  assemble  to  worship, 
should  devote  of  his  or  her  means,  to  be  placed  in  the 
treasury  of  the  assumbly,  and  the  reason  assigned  by 
Paul  for  all  this  regulation  is,  "that  there  be  no  gather- 
ings [collections]  when  I  come." 

Concerning  this  passage,  some  argue  that  its  entire 
strength  is  found  in  the  phrase,  '7a?/  hy  him,''  meaning, 
they  say,  "let  each  one  put  a  portion  of  his  earnings 

ol  Cor.  16:  1,2. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  81 

aside  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  at  home,'^  and,  of 
course,  keep  it  "at  home"  ''with  one's  self,"  "near  him- 
self," till  Paul  should  arrive  at  Corinth,  and  the  other 
churches,  when  he  would  proceed  to  gather  it  together! 
But  this  would  necessitate  collections  at  each  church  after 
his  arrival!  Yet  one  strong  Sabbath  advocate  asserts  of 
that  phrase,  "They  ordain  precisely  the  reverse  of  a  pub- 
lic collection"  p.  That  is,  Paul  arranged  with  the 
churches  for  a  general  "collection"  to  be  taken  for  the 
poor  Saints,  and  to  be  collected  before  his  arrival  among 
them,  "that  there  be  no  gatherings,  [collections]  when  Z 
come^^^  and  yet  afterward  when  writing  further  instruc- 
tion concerning  the  matter  speaks  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  defeat  the  very  object  he  had  in  view!  A  "collection," 
a  gathering  of  means,  is  the  object  had  in  view  by  tha 
apostle.  When  and  how  to  accomplish  it  is  the  question. 
He  did  not  desire  the  "gathering"  to  be  deferred  till  his 
arrival,  and  hence  he  gave  "order  to  the  churches^^  to  da 
"oTi  the  first  day  of  the  loeeh^^  just  what  he  did  not  wish 
them  to  wait  to  do  till  he  came — gather  their  bounties 
together.  An  agent  going  around  from  house  to  house 
"on  the  first  day  of  the  week"  in  order  to  gather  their 
bounties,  that  there  might  be  "no  gatherings"  when  he 
came,  would  just  as  much  interfere  with  the  members  of 
the  church,  keeping  that  which  he  devoted  to  the  cause 
"by  him,"  as  to  go  to  the  public  assembly  "on  the  first 
day  of  the  week"  and  put  it  into  the  treasury  himself. 
Paul  desired  "the  collection''  to  be  made  pi-ior  to  his 
arrival  among  them  that  none  be  taken  after  he  came; 
therefore  he  "gave  order  to  the  churches,"  to  do  this 
duty  on  the  day  of  their  assembling  for  worship — "the 
first  day  of  the  week." 

Paul,  as  an  apostle  of  the  church,  was  a  public  ch^arac- 
ter  and  officer.     The  church  was  a  public  institution  in 

p  Hist,  of  tiab.,  J.  N.  Andrews,  p.  176. 

6 


82  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

the  world — the  light  of  the  world.  Paul  received  the  gos- 
pel by  revelation  from  Jesus  Christ  q.  On  him  fell  the 
care  of  the  Grentile  churches  for  a  time,  as  their  repre- 
sentative minister  r.  As  such  he  spoke  to  them  "by  the 
word  of  the  Lord"  s,  and  by  "the  revelation"  of  God  to 
him,  even  the  "counsel  of  God"  ^.  And  since  Paul  in 
the  letter  and  subject  before  us  is  giving  "the  churches,'" 
as  such,  directions  relating  to  their  duties  in  church 
capacity,  and  more  particularly  with  regard  to  their  pub- 
lic services,  as,  for  instance,  he  says,  "If  therefore  the 
whole  church  be  come  together  into  one  place,  and  all 
speak  in  tongues,"  etc. ;  and,  "Let  all  things  be  done  unto 
edifying;"  again,  "Let  the  prophets  speak  two  or  three, 
and  let  the  others  judge;"  and,  "Let  all  things  be  done 
decently  and  in  order;"  and  then,  in  order  to  correct  the 
mistaken  views  of  some  among  them  touching  the  doc- 
trine of  the  resurrection,  he  introduces  his  famous  argu- 
ment, telling  such  he  spoke  "to  their  shame,"  he  con- 
cludes the  argument  for  the  time  and  then  resumes  his 
instructions  to  "the  churches"  respecting  the  question 
of  public  duty,  "the  collection  for  the  saints"  to  be  car- 
ried out  "on  the  first  day  of  the  week"  as  "order"  had 
been  given  to  the  churches.  The  words,  therefore,  "let 
every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store,"  do  "ordain"  "a 
public  collection,"  and  show  that  it  was  an  ordinance  of 
God.  This  "public  collection"  as  ordered  "on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,"  and  the  assembly  for  religious  duty 
and  worship,  is  apparent  when  it  is  remembered  that 
Paul's  "preaching,"  was  "in  demonstration  of  the  Spirit 
and  power,"  that  their  "faith  should  *iot  stand  in  the 
wisdom  of  men,  but  in  the  power  of  God"  u,  and  that  he 
was  "tio^  without  law  to  God,"  also  that  he  wished  them 

a  Gal.  1:12.       r2  Cor.  11:28.        s  1  These.  4:  15;  1  Cor.  14:  36. 
*2  Cor.  16: 1;  Acts  20:  27.      u  1  Cor.  2:  4,  5;  9:  21. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  83 

to  be  followers  of  him  as  he  was  of  Christ  v,  and  Christ 
worshiped  with  his  disciples  "on  the  first  day  of  the 
week."  He  further  sa3^s,  'Tor  I  have  received  of  the 
Lord  tliat  which  also  I  delivered  unto  you"  iv.  And  this, 
"For  I  delivered  unto  you  first  of  all  that  which  I  also 
received,  how  that  Christ  died  for  our  sins  according  to 
the  scriptures,  .  .  .  and  that  he  rose  again  the  tMrdday^ 
according  to  the  scriptures'^  x.  And,  lastly,  regarding  the 
instructions  given  the  Corinthians^  "If  any  man  think 
himself  to  be  a  prophet^  or  spiritual,  let  him  acknowledge 
that  the  things  that  I  wriie  unto  you,  are  the  command' 
ments  of  God.^' p.  Either  God  instructed  Paul  to  give 
this  matter  in  charge  to  the  churches,  or  he  taught  them 
to  violate  the  requirements  of  God,  or  Paul  was  deluded. 
It  is  objected  that  Christ,  prior  to  the  crucifixion,  gave 
no  commandment  to  the  disciples  to  assemble  for  the 
worship  of  God  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  that 
since  the  covenant  was  then  ratified,  nothing  could  be 
added  to  it  after  that  time.  To  this  we  reply  that,  this 
objection  might  be  of  weight  provided  it  could  be  shown 
that  the  record  we  have  in  the  Bible  contained  all  he  said 
and  did  up  to  that  time.  We  have  no  account  of  Jesus 
calling  into  offices  in  the  church  prophets,  elders,  bish- 
ops, teachers  or  deacons,  prior  to  his  crucifixion,  nor 
did  he  enjoin  upon  his  apostles  the  duty  of  going  "into 
all  the  world"  to  publish  the  gospel  among  the  nations 
prior  to  his  death.  We  are  not  aware  of  any  intimation 
in  the  Bible  anywhere,  that  all  that  he  intended  them  to 
know  of  his  "will"  was  to  be  revealed  prior  to  the  death 
of  Christ.  On  the  contrary,  he  had  mam/  things  to  say 
to  them,  but  they  were  not  able  to  bear  them  during  his 
ministry,  personally  on  earth  z.  He  did,  however,  before 
his  passion,  lay  the  foundation  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 

vl  Cor.  11:1.       wv.  23.       aj  chap.  15,  ts.  3,  4.       y  chap.  14,  v.  37. 
»Jno  21:25;  16:12. 


84  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

set  in  order  in  it  two  of  the  leading  classes  of  officers, 
apostles  and  seventy,  made  provision  for  carrying  on 
the  work  after  he  should  leave  by  promising  to  send  "the 
Comforter,".  .  .  "the  Holy  Ghost" — the  advocate  of  his 
cause  (human  redemption),  explained  its  office-work  as 
being  to  guide  his  servants  into  truth,  bring  his  past 
sayings  to  their  remembrance,  direct  them  in  their 
official  duties,  aid  them  to  follow  his  example,  and  show 
them  things  to  come.  He  also  gave  them  divine  "author- 
ity" or  power,  "keys"  to  properly  represent  the  inter- 
ests of  his  kingdom  in  his  absence,  saying  that  whatso- 
ever they  should  loose  or  bind  on  earth  (harmoniously 
with  his  will)  should  be  loosed  or  bound  in  heaven;  also 
saying,  "As  my  Father  hath  sent  me,  even  so  send  I 
you"  a;  and,  "He  that  receiveth  whomsoever  I  send 
receiveth  me;  and  he  that  receiveth  me  receiveth  him. 
that  sent  me"  h.  This  was  their  authority  to  represent 
Christ  and  his  Father,  in  their  official  work  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  church  by  their  teaching,  administering,  and 
their  example  to  the  world.  Christ  and  his  angels  stood 
by  these  ministers  in  their  official  labors.  They  preached 
the  gospel,  baptized  and  confirmed  believers,  organized 
them  into  local,  churches,  set  them  in  order,  ordained 
their  officers,  and  assembled  together  "on  the  first  day 
of  the  week"  "to  break  bread"  or  partake  of  "the  Lord's 
supper,"  preach,  pray,  and  take  up  collections  to  sustain 
the  cause  c.  Jesus  set  the  example  for  meeting  for  wor- 
ship "on  the  first  day  of  the  week."  He  says  he  did 
always  those  things  that  pleased  his  Father  d.  Can  we 
ask  for  higher  authority  or  example  than  that  of  Jesus 
and  the  apostles  for  "first-day"  service!  Did  God  accept 
of  their  labors  when  thus  ordaining,  baptizing,  confirm- 
ing, etc.  ?  Yes.   Did  he  acknowledge  their  assembling  "on 

a  John  20:  21.       6  Jehu  13  :  CO.       c  Acts  20:  7;  1  Cor.  11;  16:  1,  2. 
d  John  8:29. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  85 

the  first  day  of  the  week"  to  worship?  Yes;  God  mani- 
fested his  pleasure  at  one  such  meeting  by  hearing  the 
prayers  of  his  saints  in  behalf  of  the  young  man  that  fell 
out  of  the  window,  blessing  Mm  and  comforting  the  saints. 
In  connection  with  the  foregoing  facts  relating  to  the 
divine  authority  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  also  the 
worth  and  power  of  their  example  and  precepts  relating  to 
our  religious  duties,  the  next  evidence  that  we  adduce 
in  favor  of  the  assembling  together  of  tliose  who  come 
into  the  new  covenant,  ^'on  the  first  day  of  the  week,"  to 
worship  God,  will  have  great  weight.  Paul  and  sev  n 
others  of  the  ministry  were  on  their  way  to  Jerusalem 
from  a  tour  through  some  of  the  Roman  provinces, 
preaching  by  the  way.  Luke  says  of  this:  ^ 'These  going 
before  tarried  for  us  at  Troas.  And  we  sailed  away  from 
Philippi  after  the  'days  of  unleavened  bread,  and  came 
unto  them  to  Troas  in  five  days;  where  we  abode  seven 
d  ays.  And  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  when  tl  e 
disciples  came  together  to  break  bread,  Paul  preached 
unto  them,  ready  to  depart  on  the  morrow,  and  con- 
tinued his  speech  until  midnight.  And  there  were  many 
lights  in  the  upper  chamber,'  where  they  were  gathered 
together"  d.  Luke  here  records  the  incidental  history  of 
this  visit  of  Paul  and  the  accompanying  elders  at  Troas. 
The  leading  and  most  prominent  events,  or,  rather,  inci- 
dents, are  given.  They  left  Philippi  '  'after  the  days  of  un- 
leavened bread,"  and  were  "five  days"  on  the  journey  to 
Troas.  They  abode  at  Troas  "seven  days, "  notwithstand- 
ing Paul's  haste  to  arrive  at  Jerusalem  at  Pentecost,  then 
less  than  thirty  days  in  the  future.  A  "sabbath" 
occurred  during  their  stay  at  Troas,  but  no  mention  is. 
made  of  either  it  or  a  meeting  for  worship  being  Tield  by 
any  body  at  Troas  on  that  day.  But  it  is  mentioned, 
incidentally,  that  '  'on  the  first  day  of  the  loeeJcj  when  the 
d  Acts  20:  5-8. 


86  THE  CriRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

disciples  came  together  to  break  hread'^  (celebrate  the  Lord's 
supper,  ''on  the  Lord's  day"),  "Paul  preached  unto  them, 
ready  to  depart  on  the  morrow"— Monday.  It  is  also 
related  that  they  "gathered  together"  in  an  "upper 
chamber,"  and  that  the  meeting  was  an  unusually  long 
one,  Paul  speaking  till  midnight,  even  the  ^^lights'  being- 
mentioned.  Either  there  were  no  Jews  with  their  syna- 
gague  in  Troas,  or  else  Paul  did  not  feel  it  expedient  to 
meet  with  them  on  that  occasion.  For  it  had  been  Paul's 
"custom"  to  get  into  the  Jewish  synagogues  on  every  Sab- 
bath, if  possible,  to  "reason"  with  them  relative  to  the 
gospel  e.  It  is  not  stated  in  this  narrative  that  the  dis- 
ciples '  'gathered  together' '  to  worship  on  the  seventh 
day,  nor  could  it  be  thought  at  all  likely  that  they  would 
be  allowed  to  meet  in  the  Jews'  synagogue  to  worship, 
even  on  the  Sabbath  day.  The  Jews  were  the  hottest 
persecutors  the  disciples  of  Christ  met  with  in  those 
days.  Luke  does  not  refer  to  this  "first-day"  meeting 
at  Troas  as  though  it  was  exceptional,  but  simply  as  a  mat- 
ter of  common  custom,  and  of  weekly  occurrence.  He 
never  failed  to  mention  the  fact  when  Paul  happened  to 
preach  to  the  Jews  on  the  seventh  day,  or  to  Jews  and 
Gentiles  included/,  even  frequently  stating  the  number 
of  times  he  did  so  in  any  given  place.  And  if  at  any 
time  Paul  convened  a  special  meeting  of  brethren,  this 
faithful  chronicler  never  failed  to  mention  it  g.  While 
this  is  all  true,  we  have  no  record  of  a  single  meeting  or 
assembly  for  worship  of  Paul  with  the  disciples  on  the 
seventh  day.  This  is  peculiar,  but  then  we  remember 
that  when  Paul  was  at  Jerusalem,  the  apostle  James  and 
others  urged  him  to  observe  "^Ae  law'  as  a  matter  of 
policy  among  the  Jewish  converts.  But  they  said,  "As 
touching  the  Gentiles  which  believe,  we  have  written 

eAciBlV:  1,  ;i.         /"Acts  11:26;  13:  5.,  15,  42;  17:  2;  18:4. 
g  AclB  2U:  IT. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  87 

and  concluded  that  they  observe  no  such  thing.  ^^  Paul  was 
not  successful  at  that  time  in  keeping  the  law,  however, 
and  had  to  abandon  it  h.  The  conclusion  to  be  reached 
from  a  careful  study  of  the  text  before  us  must  be,  that 
Luke  refers  to  the  usual  custom  of  gathering  "together 
to  break  bread"  and  engage  in  other  religious  services 
**on  the  first  day  of  the  waek." 

Esalizing  the  force  of  this  example  of  this  apostolic 
church,  with  one  of  the  chief  of  the  apostles  of  our  Lord 
at  its  head,  assembling  for  divine  worship  ''on  the  first 
day  of  the  week,"  when,  with  a  number  of  the  leading 
ministry  present,  they  could  have  assembled  on  the  sev- 
enth day  (but  did  not).  Seventh-day  Sabbath  advocates 
have  assumed  that  this  meeting  was  held  on  Saturday 
evening,  instead  of  ^^the  first  day  of  the  week''  as  the  Bible 
affirms.  And  of  course  they  try  to  prove  that  Luke,  who 
was  present  at  the  meeting,  was  mistaken!  And  if  they 
succeed  in  their  effort  to  invalidate  this  testimony  of 
Luke,  Paul  traveled  nineteen  miles  to  Assos  "on  the 
first  day  of  the  week"  instead  of  meeting  with  the  saints 
at  Troas  and  continuing  the  service  till  midnight,  and 
till  break  of  day  "on  the  morrow."  This  objection 
assumes  that  the  disciples  began  the  day  at  sunset,  as 
under  the  law  regarding  the  Sabbath.  But  of  this  there 
is  no  proof.  Luke,  the  writer,  was  a  learned  Roman 
citizen,  subject  to  Roman  law  and  customs,  and  even  the 
Jews  had  been  subject  to  these  laws  and  customs  for 
about  ninety  years  when  Luke  wrote  the  Acts  (a.  d.  60), 
and  then  there  is  no  evidence  that  the  church  at  Troas 
"came  together  at  night,"  or  even  in  the  evening.  It 
might  have  been  in  the  afternoon,  but  certainly  it  was 
during  the  day.  This  is  Bible  usage.  Night  is  never  in 
the  Bible  called  day.  Early  morning  is  called  "day"  *. 
''And  God  called  the  light  day  an^  the  darkness  he  called 

h  Acts  21 :  15-^5.        i  Acts  16 :  35 ;  Luke  24 : 1. 


88  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

night"  j.  Thus  did  G-od,  and  inspiration  has  ever  so 
recognized  since.  Jesus  "continued  all  night  in  prayer 
to  God."  k.  "Jesus  answered,  Are  there  not  twelve 
hours  in  a  day?"  The  night  was  never  called  day;  there- 
fore if  the  disciples  at  Troas  did  not  meet  "on  th^  first 
Ja J/ of  the  weak,"  they  met  on  the  seventh!  For  they 
did  not  come  together  during  the  night.  It  is  not  an  un- 
usual thing  for  assemblies  to  meet  during  the  day  and 
continue  them  during  the  evening.  The  disciples  never 
expected  to  hear  Paul  preach  again.  He  did  not  antic- 
ipate ever  meeting  with  those  brethren  at  Troas  again 
in  this  life,  hence  he  continued  the  service  "till  break 
of  day,"  and  then  departed. 

The  mention  of  "the  lights"  simply  goes  to  show 
that  their  usual  place  of  meeting  to  worship  was  con- 
veniently arranged  for  services,  and  that  it  was  the  cus- 
tomary place  of  assembling.  'Paul  preached  unto  them 
ready  to  depart  on  the  morrow."  Assembling  to  wor- 
ship "on  the  first  day  of  the  week,"  would  "the  morrow" 
be  the  same  d?.}^?  That  to-day  is  to-morrow,  is  a  false- 
hood, a  direct  contradiction  in  terms.  But  this  is  just 
what  the  seventh-day  theorists  make  out  of  it.  Contend- 
ing that  as  the  disciples  at  Troas  met  on  Sunday,  Paul 
did  not  wait  until  the  morrow  to  depart,  he  really  left 
Troas  "on  the  first  day  of  the  week"  and  went  to  Assos! 
But  the  record  says,  "The  disciples  came  together"  .  .  . 
"upon  the yi?'s^  c?a?/ of  the  week"  .  .  .  "to  bieak  bread, 
and  Paul  preached  unto  them  ready  to  depart  on  the  mor- 
row"— the  second  day — Monday,  and  all  the  assumptions 
imaginable  cannot  show  to  the  contrary.  I^et  Sabba- 
tarians try  such  logic  on  these  texts:    "The  sixth  day 

they  gathered  twice  as  much  bread T^-morrow  is 

the  rest  of  the  holy  sabbath'"  /.     "EchoM  ihr  day  groweth 

JG^en.  1:5;  19:2;  24:55;  32  11-20.       A;  Luke  6: 12;  21:37. 
I  Ex.  16 :  22,  23. 


THE  CHRLSTIAN  SABBATH.  89 

to  an  end;  lodge  here,  thiat  thine  heart  may  be  merry; 
and  to-morrow  get  you  early  on  your  way,  .  .  .  but  the 
man  would  not  tarry  that  nigM '  m. 

The  Romans  began  the  day  at  midnight,  and  the  NeW 
Testament  writers  wrote  accordingly.  After  midnight 
they  never  refer  to  the  succeeding  hours  of  light  as  "the 
morrow,"  but  as  the  day  then  current,  thus:  "And  ih 
the  morning,  rising  up  a  great  while  before  day"  n.  At 
the  Savior's  arrest,  from  the  time  the  cock  crew,  it  is 
stated,  "And  as  soon  as  it  was  day."  The  Jews  indi- 
cated the  hours  of  twelve  to  three  a.m.  by  the  phrase 
"cock  crowing"  o.  Being  imprisoned  at  Philippi,  "Paul 
and  Silas  prayed,  and  sang  praises  unto  God"  ...  "at 
midnight,"  and  being  released  preached  to  the  jailer  and 
household  and  baptized  them  before  daylight — ^^and 
ivJien  it  tvas  day'  (not  "on  the  morrow"),  is  the  phrase- 
ology used  p. 

When  referring  to  the  succeeding  hours  of  light,  at 
■  any  given  time  prior  to  midnight,  the  phrase,  "the  mor- 
row," or  "to-morrow,"  is  used  by  the  New  Testament 
writers,  as  indicated  of  the  meeting  at  Troas.  Also  in 
the  case  of  Paul's  escape  from  Jerusalem  through  the 
intervention  of  "the  chief  captain,"  who  started  the 
guard  with  Paul  "a^  the  third  hour  of  the  night''  to  go  to 
Cesarea.  But  at  Antipatris  the  infantry  returned  to  the 
castle,  leaving  the  cavalry  to  proceed  "on  the  morrow" 
with  Paul  to  his  destination  q.  '  Referring  thus  to  the 
following  day  as  "the  morrow,"  when  speaking  of  it  at 
any  hour  before  midnight,  and  as  the  day  current,  after, 
demonstrates  that  "the  morrow,"  from  "the  first  day  of 
the  week"  could  be  none  other  than  Monday,  and  that 
the  evening  meeting  at  Troas,  following  the  assembling 
of  the  disciples  on  "the^rs^  day  of  the  lueek,''  was  on  Sun- 

m  Judges  19:  9, 10.       n  Mark  1:  35;  Luke  22:  61-66.       o  Mark  13:  35. 
p  Acts  16:  35.        g  Acts  23:  23,  32. 


90  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

day  evening,  and  shows  conclusive!}^  that  Luke  recog- 
nized that  the  day  ended  and  began  at  midnight,  as  John 
did:  ^^Then  the  same  day  at  evening,  being  the  first  day 
of  the  week"  r.  Thus  we  see  every  item  of  this  narrative 
goes  to  show  that  the  meeting  of  Paul  and  the  elders 
with  the  disciples  at  Troas  to  worship,  expound  the 
word,  exhort,  partake  of  ^'the  Lord's  supper,"  was  on 
^'the  first  day  of  the  week"  and  not  on  the  seventh,  as 
some  assume. 

r  Jno.20:  19. 


91 


CHAPTER     X. 

'^THE  LORD'S  DAY"— THE  FIRST  DAY  OF 
THE   WEEK. 

The  Christian  economy  is  an  institution  at  the  head  of 
which  stands  our  Lord  s.  His  is  the  church  and  king- 
dom ^.  He  is  ^^ the  head  over  all  things  to  the  church" -i^. 
''Both  Lord  and  Christ"  v.  In  his  name  all  divine  law  is 
to  be  administered  among  men.  He  is  the  one  mediator 
and  ransom  for  the  whole  world  w.  At  his  name  every 
knee  in  earth,  under  the  earth  and  in  heaven  shall  bow, 
and  every  tongue  confess  that  he  is  Lord  x.  He  is 
''Christ  the  Lord,"  "Lord  of  all,"  "Lord  of  glory"  ^. 
Jesus  is  officially  the  Lord  of  the  dispensation  of  the 
world's  redemption.  Hence  we  read  of  "the  disciples  of 
the  Lord,"  "the  brethren  of  our  Lord,"  "this  cup  of* the 
Lord,"  "blood  of  the  Lord,"  "the  law  of  the  Lord,"  (Ps. 
19:  7),  "of  Christ"  2;,  and  "the  commandments  of  the 
Lord."  "For  ye  know  what  commandments  we  gave 
unto  you  by  the  Lord  Jesus"  a.  An.l  all  the  Saints  are 
required  to  "stand  fast  in  the  Lord"  b. 

But  in  all  this  dispensation  of  our  Lord,  is  there  no 
day  commemorative  of  our  Lord's  resurrection  from  the 
dead,  that  event  and  act  that  is,  in  fact,  the  basis  of  the 
world's  hope  beyond  the  grave!  There  was  a  day  com- 
memorative of  the  redemption  of  Israel  from  Egyptian. 

s  Matt.  38:  18,  19  t  Matt.  16:  18;  C  >1.  1:  13.  u  Eph.  1:  .»;3. 

r  Acts  2:  86.    w  1  Tim.  2:  ^  6;  1  John  2:  2.    a;  2  Phil. '^:  10, 11. 

yLuhe2:ll.         «  Gal.  6:  2.  a  1  The^s.  4:  2. 

61Tkes2.  3:8;   Act«»10.36;  1  Cor.  2:  8. 

91 


^  THE  CHKISTIAN  SABBATH. 

bondage,  and  of  the  acts  of  God  in  then  redeeming  them. 
But  where  in  "the  new  covenant"  is  the  memorial  of  the 
act  of  God  and  our  Lord  giving  the  pledge  of  our  redemp- 
tion from  the  dominion  of  death!  Is  there  no  "Lord's 
-day"  essentially  distinct  and  marked  in  ^^the  law  of 
Christ'' — "of  liberty!"  Answer:  "I,  John,  who  also  am 
your  brother,  and  companion  in  tribulation,  and  in  the 
kingdom  and  patience  of  Jesus  Christ,  was  in  the  isle 
that  is  called  Patmos,  for  the  word  of  God,  and  for  the 
testimony  of  Jesus  Christ.  /  was  in  the  Sjni-it  on  the 
Lord's  day,  and  heard  behind  me  a  great  Yo'ce,  as  of  a 
trumpet"  c.  The  fact  that  such  a  wondrous  measure 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  rested  on  the  apostle  John  as  to  give 
him  a  vision  of  the  seven  churches  of  Asia,  while  yet  on 
the  lonely  isle,  and  of  the  spiritual  condition  of  their 
membership,  and  of  the  Son  of  God  personified  walking 
in  the  midst  of  the  churches,  and  of  having  the  Son 
reveal  himself  to  him  as  "the  first  and  the  last,"  and 
being  commanded  to  write  his  revelation  and  send  it  to 
the  churches,  impressed  him  so  powerfully  that  he  fell  at 
the  Savior's  feet  as  dead.  He  was  also  impressed  that 
the  time  of  seeing  this  wonderful  manifestation  of  the 
love  of  Christ  to  him  was  "the  Lord's  day."  Here,  then, 
Is  the  insjnration  of  God  designating  the  memorial  day  of 
the  resurrection  of  Christ  given  through  the  resur- 
rected One!  The  seal  of  divinity  is  thus  placed  upon 
that  day — "the  first  day  of  the  week."  The  day  of 
Christ's  resurrection  is  "the  Lord's  day."  But  does  "the 
Lord's  day,"  as  referred  to  by  the  Holy  Spirit  to  John, 
signify  "the  first  day  of  the  week"?  We  know  of  no 
instance  either  in  the  Bible  or  in  history  where  the 
phraseology,  "the  Lord's  day,"  is  used  with  respect  to 
the  Jewish  Sabbath — the  seventh-day  Sabbath.  All  his- 
tory teaches  that  "the  Lord's  day"  of  Revelation  is  "the 

c  Rev.  1 :  9,  10. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  9a 

first  day  of  the  week,"  the  eighth  from  the  day  of  our 
Lord's  glorious  resurrection.  This,  the  strongest  of 
Sabbatarians  concede,  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  through 
John,  uses  a  new  form  of  expresssion,  with  reference  to 
the  Christian's  rest  day — "the  Lord's  day."  But  when 
we  reflect  for  a  moment  that  it  was  designed  to  memo- 
rialize one  of  the  greatest  events  conceivable  toman,  and 
also  itself  an  institution  connected  inseparably  with  the 
establishment  of  the  Christian  covenant,  it  is  not  strange 
that  terms  designed  to  meet  the  ends  sought  should  be 
composed,  legitimately  growing  out  of  the  nature  of  the 
institution  and  the  attendant  events.  As,  for  instance, 
"Independence  day,"  "New  Year's  day,"  relating  to  the 
opening  of  a  new  era;  also  "Emancipation  day,"  etc. 
Events  of  importance  connected  with  the  establishment 
of  the  Israelitish  economy  were  memorialized  on  certain 
days  designated  by  titles  then  new,  as,  "the  Sabbath 
day,"  day  of  "atonement,"  "pentecost,"  etc.  So  in  the 
gospel  economy,  the  unparalleled  event  and  fact  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  the  great  Head  and  Lord  of  the 
plan  of  human  redemption,  was  celebrated  on  the  newly 
named  resurrection  day — "the  Lord's  day."  Of  this  Dr. 
Barnes  in  his  commentary  says:  "This  was  a  day  par- 
ticularly devoted  to  the  Lord  Jesus,  for  that  is  the 
natural  meaning  of  the  word  Lord  as  used  in  the  New 
Testament;  and  if  the  Jewish  Sabbath  was  intended 
to  be  designated,  the  word  Sabbath  would  have  been 
used." 

In  his  New  Testament  Grammar  Prof.  Winner  says: 
"Entirely  new  words  and  phrases  were  constructed, 
mainly  by  composition,  and  for  the  most  part  to  meet 
some  sensible  want"  d.  But  why  construct  "new  words 
and  phrases"  to  designate  old  institutions  as  "the  sal^- 
bath"?    No  "sensible  end"  could  have  been  reached  in 

d  p.  25. 


M  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

this  manner,  relating  to  the  Sabbath  of  the  law.  But 
the  phrase,  "the  Lord's  day,"  is  essentially  a  New  Testa- 
ment formation. 

Of  their  usage  of  words,  Liddell  and  Scott,  in  their 
lexicon  say:  "We  have  always  sought  to  give  the  earli- 
est authority  for  its  use  first.  Then  if  no  change  was 
introduced  by  later  writers,  we  have  left  it  with  the 
early  authority  alone"  e.  And  hence  when  they  come  to 
define  the  Greek  term  "Kuriakos,"  it  is  "Of,  belonging 
to,  concerning  a  lord  or  master,  especially  belonging  to 
the  Lord  Christ;  hence  kuriake  hemera,  the  Lord's  day." 
Tb3  New  Testament,  then,  was  their  earliest  authority 
for  this  usage,  and  no  authority  since  had  required  any 
change. 

Greenfield  defines  the  derivative  "Kuriakos,  of,  or 
pertaining  to  the  Lord,  that  is  the  Messiah;  the  Lord's,  1 
Cor.  11:  20;  Rev.  1:  10."  And  Rolison's  lexicon,  thus: 
'  'Kuriakos — Pertaining  to  the  Lord,  to  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  e.  g.,  kuriakos  deipnon, — the  Lord's  supper,  (1 
•Cor.  11:  20),  kuriake  hemera,  the  Lord's  day  (Rev.  1: 10)." 

Bagster's  Analytical  Greek  Lexicon,  thus:  "Kuriakos 
— Pertaininr  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  the  Lord  (1  Cor. 
11:  20;  Rev.^1:  10)." 

Parkhurst  says:  "This  is  the  usual  name  of  Sunday 
with  the  subsequent  Greek  fathers." 

The  above  learned  evidences  show  most  conclusively 
that  the  Lord's  day  was  a  new  institution,  and  pertained 
to  the  gospel  in  the  Apostolic  Age,  and  is  identical  with 
"the  first  day  of  the  week" — Sunday.  We  do  not  find 
the  phrase  "the  Lord's  day"  once  used,  in  all  the  Bible, 
in  application  to  the  sev§nth-day  Sabbath. 

The  new  relations  connected  with  the  institution  of  the 
"kingdom  of  heaven"  would  necessitate  the  use  of  terms 
and  phrases  suited  to  its  heavenly  and  peculiar  charac- 

rt  Pieface  p.  20. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  95 

ter,  and  of  such  a  nature  as  to  convey  to  all  its  close 
relation  to  its  preeminent  Head,  our  Lord.  Hence  the 
institution  itself,  is  called  "the  Lord's  body"/. 

The  holy  communion  is  designated  '^the  Lord's  supper," 
and,  "the  Lord's  table"  g.  The  observance  of  "the 
Lord's  supper"  commemorates  "the  Lord's  death"  h. 
And  as  the  baptism  with  which  our  Lord  was  to  be  bap- 
tized involved  the  idea  of  not  only  being  buried  or  hid 
away  out  of  sight,  but  also  the  act  of  rising  again  from 
that  condition,  "the  Lord's  supper"  was  observed  on 
"the  Lord's  day" — the  resurrection  day,  "the  first  day 
of  the  week."  No  one  will  contend  that  "the  Lord's 
supper"  is  any  other  than  a  purely  gospel  institution. 

Since  "the  Lord's  day"  is  first  found  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment institution  and  ever  after  associated  with  the  wor- 
ship of  Christ,  because  of  the  glory  attendant  upon  his 
triumphal  victory  over  death,  could  it  be  made  to  appear 
as  any  other  than  the  day  celebrated  as  Christ's  resur- 
rection day?  The  foregoing  ought  to  be  decisive  in 
relation  to  this  division  of  the  subject. 

/lCor.l2:^7,  23;  11:29.       y  I  Cor.  10;  21;  11:  30.       A  v.  27. 


96 


CHAPTER     XL 

HISTOEICAL  IDENriTY  OF  "THE  FIEST 
DAY"  WITH    "THE  LORD'S  DAY." 

Leaving,  now,  the  consideration  of  the  testimony  of 
the  lexicographers  and  commentators,  we  will  notice, 
briefly,  some  of  the  historical  testimony  to  the  identity  of 
^Hlie  Lord's  day^  of  Revelation  with  ''''the  first  day  of  the 
weelz''  of  Pa.uV s  divinely  inspired  instructions  to  ^^the  churches 
of  Christ.''  Our  statements  under  this  head  are  taken 
from  writings  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers^  also  a  work — 
"a  collection  of  ecclesiastical  statements" — called,  ^^The 
Apostolic  Constitutions,''  with  other  accredited  historical 
data. 

"The  Ante-Nicene  Fathers  are  those  Christian  writers 
who  flourished  after  the  time  of  the  apostles,  and  before 
the  Council  of  Nice,  a.  d.,  325."  In  a  little  work  by 
Elder  Andrews,  (Adventist),  entitled,  The  Complete 
Testimony  of  the  First  Three  Centuries,  in  his  History  of 
the  Sabbath,  page  204,  "Introductory  Statement"  he 
remarks:  "Many  of  the  Fathers  call  the  first  day  of  the 
week  the  Lord's  day."  Also:  "For  those  Fathers  who 
hallow  the  Sabbath  do  generally  associate  with  it  the 
festival  called  by  them  the  Lord's  day"i.  Here  is  the 
confession  of  one  of  the  ablest  of  modern  Sabbath  advo- 
cates, with  "The  Complete  Testimony  of  the  Fathers" 
before  him,  that  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  and  the  Lord's 
day  are  not  identical,  but  that  "many  of"  them  "call  the 
first  day  of  the  week  the  Lord's  day,"  thus  admitting  the 
identity  of  "the  Lord's  day"  with  Sunday. 

The  testimony  of  the  Fathers  to  the  fact  that  many  of 

>pp.  10   11. 

96 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  97 

the  Saints  observed  the  Sabbath  with  **the  first  day  of 
the  week,"  is  by  this  able  writer  not  questioned.  The 
Fathers  are  also  admitted  as  evidence  on  other  points 
relative  to  the  doctrine  and  practices  of  the  church  in 
the  times  immediately  succeeding  the  apostles'  days. 
That  the  Sabbath  was  observed  by  some  of  the  Jewish 
converts  in  the  Apostolic  age  is  shown  by  New  Testa- 
ment history  h.  It  was  evidently  done  as  a  matter  of 
policy  by  those  who  fully  understood  the  matter.  Paul 
says:  ^'I  am  made  all  things  to  all  men,  that  I  might  by 
all  means  save  some.  ...  To  them  that  are  without 
law,  as  without  law  (being  not  without  law  to  God,  but 
being  under  the  law  of  Christ),  that  I  might  gain  them 
that  are  without  law."  Again;  "to  them  that  are  under 
the  law,  as  under  the  law,  that  I  might  gain  them  th^t 
are  under  the  law."  Paul  here  argues,  substantially^ 
that,  as  a  religious  code,  all  other  laws  save  the  gospel, 
are  simply  nothing.  And  he  argues  precisely  similarly 
in  reference  to  eating  meats  and  things  offered  to  idols, 
— that  to  those  enlighted  by  the  law  of  Christ  the  idol 
was  ''nothing"  I.  To  the  Jewish  convert  yet  unenlight- 
ened by  the  gospel,  circumcision  was  everything,  and 
just  as  essential  as  baptism  and  the  Sabbath;  but  in  the 
gospel  covenant  neither  circumcision  or  the  Sabbath 
were  profitable  m.  As  a  matter  of  policy  among  the 
new  Jewish  converts,  James  counseled  Paul  to  observe 
the  law,  when  at  Jerusalem;  but  ''as  touching  the  Gen- 
tiles which  believe,  we  have  written  and  concluded  that 
they  observe  no  such  thing. ^^ 

"Ah!  but  the  laio  that  the  apostles  of  Christ  wrote  to 
the  Gentile  believers  not  to  keep,  was  the  ceremomanaw, " 
says  the  objector!  Then,  on  the  same  ground,  "the  law" 
referred  to  in  the  same  connection  in  the  statement, 
*^Thou  seest,  brother,  how  many  thousands  of  Jews  there 

fcl  Cor.  9:  20-22.       Zl  Cor.  8:4.       m  Gal.  5:  6;  4:  10. 


98  THE  CHRISTrAN  SABBATH.  ' 

are  which  believe;  and  they  are  all  zealous  of  tlie  law''' — 
refers  to  the  ceremonial  law!  And,  of  course,  they 
manifested  no  zeal  for  the  ten  commandment  law!  *^A 
little  leaven,  leaveneth  the  whole  lump. "  All  the  law, 
or  none  of  it,  as  a  religious  guide  under  the  gospel,  is 
the  logic  of  the  New  Testament  argument  for  keeping 
the  Sabbath  of  the  law  n.  "But,"  says  the  objector,  "  'all 
the  law'  is  said  by  Paul  to  mean  ^all  things  which  are 
written  in  the  hook  of  the  law.'  "  Just  so;  Paul  and  the 
Jews  of  his  day  were  indebted  to  "the  book  of  the  law" 
for  all  they  knew  of  the  law,  whether  of  the  decalogue 
or  the  ceremonial.  So  are  we.  After  the  Babylonish 
captivity,  "the  book  of  the  law"  was  the  only  source  of 
obtaining  the  law  given  to  Israel,  or  any  part  of  it,  save 
as  it  might  be  revealed  anew  through  the  prophets. 

After  this  slight  digression  from  the  line  of  argument 
from  a  historical  basis  to  meet  the  objection  to  us  and 
seemingly  favorable  to  the  Sabbath  of  the  law,  we  now 
resume  the  subject.  We  have  already  seen  by  the  New 
Testament,  that  the  churches  presided  over  by  the 
apostle  Paul  assembled  on  "the  first  day  of  the  week"  for 
divine  worship  in  accordance  with  Christ's  example,  and 
divine  regulation  through  thi^  apostle,  Paulo;  also  that, 
John  was  inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  speak  of  a  day 
especially  related  to  the  Cliristian  Institution,  calling  it 
"the  Lord's  day;"  and  that  there  is  no  evidence  eithei: 
sacred  or  profane  that  the  term  ^TL<ord's  dav"  was  ever 
applied  to  the  seventh-day  Sabbath,  and  that,  therefore, 
it  must  refer  to  the  resurrection  day — "the  first  day  of 
the  week."  Our  first  witness  to  the  proposition  before 
us  is  a  statement  of  Pliny,  a  Eoman  governor  of  Bithy- 
nia  at  the  opening  of  the  second  century,  from  seven  to 
eight  years  after  John  wrote  the  Book  of  Revelation.     In 

n  Acts  20:  25;  Gal.  5:  9.        ol  Cor,  16: 1,2;  Acts  20:  7; 
1  Cor  14:37;  15:4. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  99 

a  letter  he  wrote  the  Emperor  Trajan  giving  account  of 
what  was  developed  by  examination  of  Christians  at  his 
tribunal,   he  says:  \J^hey  affirm  that  the  whole  of  their 
{'guilt  or  error  was,  that  they  met  on  a  certain  stated 
/  daj  {stato  die),  betore  It  was  ..light,  and  addressed  them- 
'   selves  in  a  form  of  prayer  to  Christ,   as  to  some  God, 
\  binding  themselves  by  a  solemn  oath,  not  for  the  pur- 
',  pose  of  any  wicked  design,   but  never   to  commit  aiiy 
fraud,  theft,  or  adultery;    never  to  falsify  their  wo^d, 
nor  deny  a  trust  when  they  should  be  called  upon  to 
deliver  it  up;    after  which  it  was  their  custom  to  sepa- 
rate, and  then  reassemble  to  eat  in  common  a  harmless 
.meal"jp.  \ 

This  testimony  of  Pliny  is  good,  not  only  in  relation  to 
the  excellent  standing  of  the  Saints  of  his  day  as  to 
their  moral  character,  but  to  the  fact  that  they  had  a 
^'certain  stated  day"  for  public  worship.  What  day  of 
the  week  was  this  "certain  stated  day"  the  Christians  of 
Bithynia  kept  holy?  Prof.  Stewart,  as  we  read  from 
Quotations  in  Edward's  Sahhath  Manual,  says:  "The 
zealots  for  the  law  wished  the  Jewish  Sabbath  to  be 
observed  as  well  as  the  Lord's  day;  for  about  the  latter 
there  appears  never  to  have  been  any  question  among 
any  class  of  Christians,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  dis- 
cover. The  early  Christians,  one  and  all  of  them,  held 
the  first  day  of  the  week  to  be  sacred"  q.  Could  first- 
day  observance  have  been  so  universally  accepted  by  the 
early  Christian  church,  at  so  early  a  period,  had  it  not 
been  received  from  Christ  and  the  apostles?  Why  is  it 
that  not  a  single  writer  of  the  Christian  church  for  the 
first  three  centuries  can  be  produced  who  wrote  against 
first-day  observance?  It  is  astonishingly  strange,  if  the 
celebration  of  worship  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  was 
wrong  and  not  divinely  appointed,  that  among  the  mul- 

p  Coleman's  Ancient  Christianity,  Cliap.  1,  Sec.  1.       q  p.  113. 


100  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

titude  of  questions  that  came  up  for  controversy  and 
decision  in  the  church,  during  the  first  three  centuries 
of  our  era,  that  question  never  was  brought  forward! 

Right  here  we  quote  Elder  Andrews  again,  in  connec- 
tion with  the  statement  of  Prof.  Stewart,  that  ''those 
Fathers  who  hallow  the  Sabbath  do  generally  associate 
with  it  the  festival  called  by  them  the  Lord's  day"  r.  We 
feel  grateful  to  thus  be  able  to  answer  our  question  sug- 
gested by  Pliny's  testimony  concerning  the  "certain 
stated  day"  of  worship — the  ''certain  stated  day,"  there- 
fore, was  Sunday. 

Moving  along  some  thirty-six  years  later  than  Pliny 
(a.  b.  140),  we  come  to  the  days  of  Justin  Martyr.  We 
preface  his  statement  with  an  authoritative  observation 
or  two,  because  of  the  importance  of  his  testimony.  He 
was  born  of  Greek  parentage,  in  Palestine.  His  dia- 
logue with  Trypho  the  Jew,  was  held  at  Ephesus,  Asia 
Minor,  where  John  wrote  his  Revelation  some  forty-four 
years  previously.  The  Encyclopedia  Americana  says  he 
was  "one  of  the  earliest  and  most  learned  writers  of  the 
Christian  church,"  and  that  "he  was  equally  zealous  in 
opposing  alleged  heretics."  Dr.  Schaff  says:  "After  his 
conversion  Justin  devoted  himself  wholly  to  the  vindi- 
cation of  the  Christian  religion,  as  an  itinerant  evangelist, 
with  no  fixed  abode"  5.  This  being  true,  Justin  had 
ample  opportunity  to  know  what  the  doctrine  of  the 
church  was,  not  only  in  Asia  Minor  and  Palestine,  but 
in  Rome  and  Greece  as  well.  He  could  therefore  know 
and  give  unquestioned  testimony  to  the  belief  and  prac- 
tice of  the  church.  The  Schaff-Herzog  Encyclopedia 
states  that  "Justin  professes  to  present  the  system  of  doc- 
trine held  by  all  Christians  and  seeks  to  be  orthodox  on 
all  points.  The  only  difference  he  knows  of  as  existing 
between  Christians  concerned  themillenium.  Thus  Jus- 
r  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  p.  11.        s  Ch.  Hist,,  vol.  1,  p.  482. 


THE  CHKISTIAN  SABBATH.  101 

till  is  an  iv controvert Ihle  tvitness  for  the  unity  of  the  faith 
in  the  church  of  his  day,  and  to  the  fact  that  the  Gentile 
type  of  Christianity  prevailed."  Now  we  here  give  the 
words  of  this  eminent  minister  of  the  church  found  in 
his  famous  '  'Apology  to  the  Roman  Emperor  Titus  An- 
toninus, who  being  a  heathen,  would  probably  know 
neither  the  meaning  of  the  term  Sabbath  or  the  Lord's 
day,  hence  Justin  familiarly  calls  the  day  referred  to, 
Sunday:  "And  on  the  day  called  Sunday,  all  who  live  in 
cities  or  in  the  country  gather  together  in  one  place, 
and  the  memoirs  of  the  apostles  or  the  writings  of  the 
prophets  are  read  as  long  as  time  permits;  then  when 
the  reader  has  ceased,  the  president  verbally  instructs 
and  exhorts  to  the  imitation  of  these  good  things. 
Then  we  all  rise  together  and  pray,  and  as  we  said 
before,  when  our  prayer  is  ended,  bread  and  wine  and 
water  are  brought,  and  the  president  in  like  manner 
offers  prayers  and  thanksgivings,  according  to  his  ability, 
and  the  people  assent,  saying,  Amen;  and  there  is  dis 
tribution  to  each,  and  a  participation  of  that  over  which 
thanks  have  been  given,  and  to  those  who  are  absent  a 
portion  is  sent  by  the  deacons.  And  they  who  are  well 
to  do,  and  willing,  give  what  each  each  thinks  fit;  and 
what  is  collected  is  deposited  with  the  president,  who 
succors  the  orphans  and  widows,  and  those  who  through 
sickness,  or  any  other  cause,  are  in  want,  and  those  who 
are  in  bonds,  and  the  strangers  sojourning  among  us, 
and  in  a  word,  takes  care  of  all  who  are  in  need.  But 
Sunday  is  the  day  on  which  we  all  hold  our  common  assem- 
bly,— because  it  is  the  first  day  on  which  God,  having 
wrought  a  change  in  the  darkness  and  matter,  made 
the  world;  and  Jesus  Christ,  our  Savior,  on  the  same 
day  rose  from  the  dead.  For  he  was  crucified  on  the 
day  before  that  of  v^aturn  [Saturday];  and  on  the  day 
after  that  of  Saturn,  v/hich  is  the  day  of  the  sun,  hav- 


102  THE  CIIRISTI AN  SABBATH. 

ing  appeared  to  his  apostles  and  disciples,  he  taught 
them  these  things,  which  we  have  submitted  to  you  also 
for  your  consideration''  t.  Here  is  clear,  straightfor- 
ward, unquestioned  testimony,  authoritative  evidence, 
that  the  Church  of  Christ  held  their  '  'assembly' '  for  the 
worship  of  God  on  Sunday,  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and 
not  the  seventh  day.  Let  any  one  analyze  this  state- 
ment of  Justin  relative  to  the  general  belief  of  the  church 
at  that  time,  the  manner  of  worship,  charity,  the  Lord's 
supper,  and  the  day  of  the  assembling,  and  compare  it 
with  the  practice  of  tlje  church  in  the  first  century  if, 
and  Paul's  example  in  worship  wdth  the  church  at  Troas 
V,  his  divinely  inspired  instructions  to  and  regulations 
among  the  churches  il\  and  it  will  be  clearly  seen  that 
the  churches  were  yet  abiding  ^'in  the  apostles'  doctrine,'^ 
as  Christ,  when  appearing  to  his  disciples  after  his  resur- 
rection "taught  them  these  things." 

Let  us  now  move  along  ten  years  later  only  (a.  d.  150), 
and  the  testimony  of  Barnabas  unites  with  that  of  Jus- 
tin: "For  which  cause  we  observe  the  eighth  day  with 
gladness,  in  which  Jesus  rose  from  the  dead;  and  having 
manifested  himself  to  his  disciples,  ascended  into 
heaven."  The  testimony  of  Barnabas  is  admitted  to 
have  been  in  existence  as  early  as  the  date  here  assigned, 
by  the  ablest  of  seventh-day  advocates  x.  It  was  cited 
by  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  who  flourished  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  second  century,  and  others  later  along, 
including  Origen  and  Eusebius.  His  writings  were 
extensively  read  in  the  early  church.  They  are  there- 
fore reliable. 

We  next  hear  the  evidence  of  Dionysius,  Bishop  of 
Corinth,  who  wrote  about  a.  d.  170.     In  his  epistle  writ- 

t  First,  Apology  of  Justin,  chapter  67.       u  Acts  11 :  'I't-I^  30; 

Rom.  12:  8.    «  Acts  20;  1  Cnr.  16:  1.  2.    to  Gal.  2: 10. 

X  Andrew's  History  of  the  Sabbath,  p.  218. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  103 

ten  to  Soter,  Bishop  of  Rome,  he  says:  "To-day  we  have 
passed  the  Lord' s  holy  day^  in  which  we  have  read  your 
epistle;  in  reading  which  we  shall  always  have  our  minds 
stored  with  admonition,  as  we  shall,  also,  from  that  writ- 
ten to  us  before  by  Clement"  y.  Some  object  to  this  state- 
ment of  Dionysius  and  say  it  is  not  honest  to  cite  it  as 
evidence  favoring  first-day  worship,  for  while  the  term 
"Lord's  day"  is  used,  it  is  not  defined,  and  we  cannot 
determine  whr.t  day  is  referred  to,  the  first,  or  last  day 
of  the  week.  To  this  we  reply.  We  have  no  evidence  in 
the  Bible,  or  church  history,  of  the  term  here  used  ever 
being  applied  to  the  Sabbath  of  the  law.  This  fact  sorely 
tries  advocates  of  the  Sabbath  cause.  Further,  the  day 
on  which  the  churches  met  to  worship,  and  to  read  the 
prophets,  the  memoirs  of  the  apostles  and  other  writings, 
was  "the  day  after  that  of  Saturn."  "Sunday,"  says 
Justin  Martyr  (a.  d.  140),  is  the  day  on  which  we  hold 
our  common  assembly." 

Elder  J.  N.  Andrews,  in  his  ^^ History  of  the  Sahhath 
and  First  day,''  after  devoting  an  entire  chapter  in  notic- 
ing the  reasons  assigned  by  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers 
for  not  observing  the  seventh-day,  and  their  reasons  for 
keeping,  as  a  day  of  rest  and  worship  to  God,  "the  first 
day  of  the  week,"  Sunday,  "the  Lord's  day" — the  resur- 
rection day — confesses  that,  "The  reasons  offered  by  the 
early  fathers  for  neglecting  the  observance  of  the  sab- 
bath show  conclusively  that  they  had  no  special  light  on 
the  subject  by  reason  of  living  in  the  first  centuries,  which 
we  in  this  later  age  do  not  possess"  2;.  The  names  of  all 
the  prominent  Fathers  are  mentioned  by  this  historian 
as  "neglecting  to  observe  the  sabbath"  .  .  .  "in  the 
first  centuries,"  and  hence  Dionysius  must  have  meant 
Sunday  by  the  "Lord's  day,"  and  more  especially  since, 
as  Elder  Andrews  says,  "those  fathers  who  hallow  the 

y  Eueebius'  Eccl.  Hist.,  Book  4,  chapter  2i.        z  p.  308. 


104  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

Sabbath  do  generally  associate  with  it  the  festival  called 
by  them  the  Lord's  day"  a. 

Not  only  this,  but  in  this  testimony  of  Dionysius, 
Clement  is  referred  to  as  a  contemporary  writer  with 
himself.  We  will  therefore  notice  in  this  connection 
Clement's  reference  to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  or,  as 
was  quite  usual  with  the  ecclesiastical  writers  of  the 
early  Christian  church,  to  refer  to  it  as  the  "eighth"  day, 
a  custom  that  grew  out  of  the  second  meeting  of  Christ 
with  the  disciples,  as  mentioned  in  John  Z>,  Clement 
referring  to  a  prophecy  of  the  philosopher  Plato,  says: 
"And  the  Lord's  day  Plato  prophetically  speaks  of  in 
the  tenth  book  of  the  Rejjuhlic,  in  these  words :  'And  when 
seven  days  have  passed  to  each  of  them  in  the  meadow, 
on  the  eighth  day  they  are  to  set  out  and  arrive  in  four 
days' "  c. 

I  do  not  quote  Clement's  explanations  of  Plato's  sub- 
ject, it  being  unnecessary  here,  but  enough  of  this  fath- 
er's language  and  his  quotation  to  show  that  in  the  days 
of  Dionysius  and  Clement  the  eighth  day  from  Christ's 
resurrection,  the  first  day  of  the  week,  and  the  Lord's 
day,  were  then  identical.  Clement  again  observes:  "He, 
in  fulfillment  of  the  precept,  according  to  the  gospel, 
keeps  the  Lord's  day,  when  he  abandons  an  evil  dispo- 
sition, and  assumes  that  of  the  Gnostic,  glorifying  the 
Lord's  resurrection  in  himself"  d. 

For  the  sake  of  consistency,  it  should  not  be  urged  by 
seventh-day  advocates  that  the  seventh  day  is  referred 
to  by  the  fathers  when  using  the  terms  "Lord's  day,"  for 
they,  almost  without  exception,  when  writing  of  the 
seventh  day,  call  it  the  Sabbath.  This  statement  can- 
not be  successfully  controverted.  But  it  is  evident  that 
the  first  day  of  the  week  was  called  "the  Lord's  day"  by 

a  Testimony  of  Fathers,  p.  11.      6  chap.  20:26.       c  B^ok  5,  chap.  15. 
d  Miscellanies  of  Clement,  Book  7,  chap.  14. 


THE  CHRLSTIAN  SABBATH.  105 

otliers  than  John  the  apostle,  before  the  days  of  Diony- 
sitis  and  Clement  (a.  d.  170-194),  for  in  the  writings 
ascribed  to  Ignatius,  mentioned  and  cited  by  Irenaeus 
(a.  d.  177),  Origen  and  others  still  later,  and  believed 
by  many  able  men  of  the  past  to  have  been  collected  by 
Polycarp,  the  disciple  of  John  the  Revelator,  we  find  the 
following:  * 'Wherefore,  if  they  who  were  brought  up  in 
these  ancient  laws  came  nevertheless  to  the  newness  of 
hope;  no  longer  observing  sabbaths,  but  keeping  the 
Lord's  day,  in  which  also  our  life  is  sprung  up  in  him"  e. 
The  translation  from  which  I  here  quote,  is  that  of  Wil- 
liam Wake,  Lord  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  afterward,  of  Can- 
terbury. I  mention  this  because  this  translation  does 
not  agree  in  verbiage  precisely  with  those  given  by  Elder 
J.  N.  Andrews  in  his  '^Testimony  of  the  Fathers.''^  Bishop 
Wake  cites  abundant  testimony,  in  the  Introduction  to 
his  translation  of  the  epistles  of  Ignatius,  to  their  antiq- 
uity. "The  Lord's  day, "  referred  to  in  this  text,  can  refer 
to  no  other  than  the  first  day  of  the  week,  for  the  sev- 
enth day  is  referred  to  in  the  immediate  connection  and 
called  the  Sabbath.  Here^  then,  is  evidence  identifying 
the  Lord's  day  with  the  first  day  of  the  week  prior  to  the 
days  of  Dionysius  and  Clement. 

But  the  earliest  use  of  the  term  "Lord's  day"  now 
known,  is  that  of  John  the  divine.  The  phrase  is  a  for- 
mation by  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  would  seem,  and  is  never 
applied  to  any  other  than  the  day  of  Christ's  resurrection, 
the  first  day  of  the  week,  as  we  have  already  seen.  In 
regard  to  the  words,  "no  longer  observing  the  sabbath, 
but  living  in  observance  of  the  Lord's  day,"  as  found  in 
the  shorter  epistle  of  Ignatius,  according  to  Elder  An- 
drews he  lends  favor  to  a  translation  of  these  words  that 
excludes  the  word  "day"  and  inserts  "life,"  making  it 
read  "Lord's  life,"  instead  of  "Lord's  day,"  "literally, 

e  Epistle  to  the  Meagnesians,  chap.  3:3. 


106  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

^no  longer  sabbatizing,  but  living  according  to  the  Lord's 
life' "/.  But  his  effort  on  this,  as  on  the  text  relating  to 
the  meeting  at  Troas,  overdoes  the  matter  and  causes 
the  writer  to  deny  that  Christ  kept  the  Sabbath!— "No 
longer  sabbatizing,  hut  living  according  to  the  Lord's  life,'' 
This  translation  is  not  only  what  the  writer,  or  any 
other  of  the  fathers  taught  not,  but  does  violation  to  the 
subject  had  under  consideration  by  the  writer.  He  was 
exhorting  the  Christians  to  no  longer  observe  the  Sab- 
bath of  the  law,  but  to  observe,  as  a  day  of  worship 
instead,  "the  Lord's  day."  This  is  the  face  of  the  record 
as  given  us.  Why  this  effort  to  break  down  the  testi- 
mony of  Luke,  John,  and  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers,  in. 
reference  to  first-day  observance  on  the  part  of  the 
ancient  Christian  Church?  Simply  because  they  believed 
in  keeping  "the  first  day  of  the  week,"  "the  Lord's  day," 
as  a  day  of  worship,  while  the  Sabbatarians  believe  in 
keeping  us  around  the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai,  in  the  wilder- 
ness, keeping  Saturday  as  a  rest  day.  They  celebrate 
the  coming  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt  ^,  while  "the  children 
of  the  kingdom'i-  believe  in  '  celebrating  the  emancipa- 
tion of  the  ivhole  world,  from  the  bondage  of  sin,  death 
and  hell  A  on  the  glorious  resurrection  day  of  Christ, 
Sunday,  and  by  an  undeniable  manifestation  of  their 
faith  in  a  Savior  who,  on  that  venerable  day,  broke  the 
bands  of  death,  and  drew  aside  the  dark  veil  that  had, 
until  then,  wrapt  in  eternal  night  the  shining  way  to  the 
world  of  bliss  and  eternal  peace,  (so  far  as  the  benighted 
world  was  concerned),  and  by  the  gospel  led  the  mind  of 
the  world,  as  yet  "without  hope,  and  without  God  in  the 
world,"  from  the  day  by  them  revered,  to  Sim  icho  formed 
the  day!  Also  that  the  nations  might  no  longer  worship 
and  serve  the  creature  (the  sun),  but  him  who  had  cre- 
ated it. 

/Testimony  of  Fathers,  p.  27.        p  Dent  5:  15.         h  John  1 :  29; 
Horn  5:  18,  19;  1  Cur.  15:  22;  Kev.  1:  18,  20;  2J:  13. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  107 

The  Jews  were  not  far  behind  the  Gentiles  who  revered 
Sunday,  in  their  reverence  of  Saturday,  for  Paul  had 
* 'proved  both  Jews  and  Gentiles,  that  they  are  all  under 
sin."  And  in  that  same  letter  i,  Paul  charged  both  Jews 
and  Gentiles  with  having  too  great  regard  for  certain 
days^  and  too  little  for  Him  to  whom  the  day  and  the 
whole  creation  points — the  Creator. 

Bardesanes,  who  flourished  and  wrote  about  A.  d.  180, 
a  resident  of  Syria,  and  a  member  of  the  Gnostics,  will 
be  cited  next.  Of  the  establishment  of  Christianity, 
which  "Christ  at  his  advent  planted  in  every  country," 
he  remarks:  "On  one  day,  the  first  of  the  week,  we 
assemble  ourselves  together,  and  on  the  days  of  the 
readings  we  abstain  from  [taking]  sustenance"  y.  Thus 
speaks  this  writer  of  the  assembly  of  the  Christians  in 
his  times  on  the  firsl^  day  of  the  week.  And  this  day,  as 
we  have  seen,  was  the  day  of  public  worship  in  the  days 
of  Justin  Martyr.  And  Ignatius,  Dionysius  (a.  d.  170), 
and  Clement  call  "the  first  day  of  the  week"  "the  Lord's 
day."  Bardesanes  belonged  to  the  Gnostics.  And  Elder 
Andrews  says  "This  shows  that  the  Gnostics  used  Sun- 
day as  the  day  for  religious  assemblies"  h.  Precisely.  A  nd 
Bardesanes  writes  of  the  institution  of  Christianity,  which 
"Christ  at  his  advent  planted  in  every  country ^'^  and  was 
designed  to  be  published  among  "all  nations."  The  evi- 
dence, therefore,  is  now  before  us,  that  early  in  the 
second  century  the  Christian  church,  including  the 
heretical  sects,  all  observed  the  first  day  of  the  week  as 
the  day  of  religious  worship,  celebrating  the  worship  of 
God  on  the  day  of  the  resurrection  of  his  Son  —  the 
Lord's  day. 

<  Horn.  14:  5.     3  Book  of  tbe  Laws  of  Countries.        U  TestimoDy 
of  Fathers,  p.  54. 


108 


CHAPTER    XII. 

DID  NOT  OETGINATE  WITH  ROMAN  BISHOPS. 
FIRST  DAY  AND  LORD'S  DAY  IDEN- 
TICAL. 

A  noticeable  insinuation^  amounting  in  effect  to  an 
assertion  that  Sunday  observance,  as  a  day  of  Christian 
worship,  originated  at  Rome,  after  the  days  of  the  apos- 
tles, is  manifest  in  the  works  of  Sabbatarians  on  this 
subject,  generally.  Now  the  evidence,  as  we  have  pre- 
sented so  far,  is  just  the  reverse  of  this  idea.  Justin 
Martyr  was,  as  Dr.  Schaff  says,  ^'an  itinerant  evangel- 
ist." He  traveled  among  the  churches  in  different  coun- 
tries. Dionysius  was  Bishop  at  Corinth,  in  Greece. 
Bardesanes  was  of  Ed^ssa,  in  Syria;  and  Clement  resided 
in  Alexandria  in  Egypt.  So  that  down  to  A.  D.  194,  we 
have  offered  no  testimony  specially  Roman,  unless  it  be 
that  of  Paul  or  Luke  I.  The  church  at  Rome,  having 
been  founded  in  the  apostolic  age,  no  doubt  kept  sacred 
the  first  day  of  the  week  like  the  churches  of  Galatia, 
Corinth  and  Troas,  and  as  Christ  and  the  apostles  before 
them  had  done.  But  the  testimony  of  the  Fathers  goes 
to  show  conclusively,  that  whether  the  Roman  and  other 
w:estern  churches  kept  "the  Lord's  day"  or  not,  the 
Eastern  and  Southern  churches  did.  And  this  was  more 
than  three  hundred  years  before  a  pope  had  an  existence 
in  the  church  to  issue  bulls,  ordain  canons,  hurl  anathe- 
mas, change  tiines  and  laws,  or  crimson  his  hands  with 
the  sacred  blood  of  the  martyrs.  r^^- 

Tertullian,  of  Africa,  also  an  extensive  traveler,  who 
■wrote  about  A.  D.  200,  and  who,  as  Johnson's  Cyclopedia 

11  Cor.  16:  1.  2:  Acts  20:  7. 

108 


THE  CHEISTIAN  SABBATH.  100 

says,  ^Vas  a  representative  of  the  African  opposition 
to  Eome,"  comes  next.  Elder  Andrews  says  of  him: 
"He  speaks  of  the  Lord's  day  as  the  eighth  day;"  also, 
''He  was  not  so  far  removed  from  the  time  of  the  apos- 
tles but  that  many  clear  rays  of  divine  truth  shone  upon 
him"  m.  And  we  add,  when  referring  to  the  seventh 
day  he  called  it  Saturday,  and  the  Sabbath.  And  after 
a  number  of  references  to  the  Sabbath,  Sabbaths,  and 
other  festivals  observed  by  the  Jews,  he  says  while  apolo- 
gizing for  the  church  for  observing  the  first  day  of  the 
week  for  the  solemn  celebration  of  public  worship, — 
"Not  on  the  Lord's  day,  not  Pentecost,  even  if  they  had 
known  them,  would  they  [the  Jews]  have  shared  with  us; 
for  they  would  fear  lest  they  should  seem  to  be  Chris- 
tians" n.  Again :  '  'We  solemnize  the  day  after  Saturday  in 
contradistinction  to  those  who  call  this  day  their  Sabbath, 
and,  devoting  it  to  ease  and  eating,  deviating  from  the 
old  Jewish  customs,  which  they  are  now  very  ignorant 
of"o.  "The  day  after  Saturday"  was  "the  Lord's  day" 
when  Tertullian  wrote  his  able  and  learned  defense  of 
the  doctrine  and  practice  of  the  church  in  his  times.  He 
was  among  the  ablest  of  the  Fathers  whose  writings 
have  come  down  to  our  day.  His  writings,  bold  advo- 
cacies of  what  he  believed  to  be  true,  forbid  the  idea  that 
he,  as  a  bishop  of  the  church,  accepted  without  question 
whatever  might  be  presented  as  truth.  He  opposed 
Jew  and  Grentile,  in  the  church  or  out,  in  what  he  believed 
to  be  wrong.  With  examples  of  Christian  heroism  like 
Paul  and  other  noble  martyrs  of  Jesus,  he  would  not 
yield  to  what  was  popular  merely  for  the  satisfaction  or 
a  love  of  the  glory  of  men.  He,  with  the  other  official 
representatives  of  the  church  in  the  first  and  second  cen- 
turies, must  have  had  ample  and  satisfactory  evidence  of 

m  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  pp.  63.  fi4.      n  On  Idolatry,  chap.  15. 
0  Sec.  16. 


110  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

the  sacredness  of  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  a  day  of 
worship,  and  that  John  by  the  divine  Spirit  called  that 
day  "the  Lord's  day." 

It  cannot  be  argued  with  any  greater  regard  for  the 
truth  that  "Lord's  day"  observance  was  an  innovation 
on  the  Christian  religion,  brought  in  by  apostasy,  than 
that  the  continued  observance  of  circumcision,  or  the 
Jewish  ritual  for  two  or  three  centuries,  was  the  work 
of  the  apostasy.  Those  who,  in  the  church,  during  those 
times,  kept  the  seventh  day,  did  not  question  the  right 
or  propriety  of  first-day  observance.  This  is  most  sig- 
nificant. On  this  point  we  quote  the  following  facts,  and 
the  more  readily  because  they  are  accepted  by  seventh- 
day  advocates  as  valid  and  used  by  them  in  evidence^. 
They  testify  to  the  verity  of  first-day  worship  in  the 
church  in  the  Apostolic  Age:  "The  last  day  of  the  week 
was  strictly  kept  in  connection  with  that  of  the  first  day, 
for  a  long  time  after  the  overthrow  of  the  temple  and  its 
worship"  g.  Again:  "The  primitive  Christians  had  a 
great  veneration  for  the  Sabbath,  and  spent  the  day  in 
devotion  and  sermons.  And  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  but 
they  derived  this  practice  from  the  apostles  themselves, 
as  appears  by  several  Scriptures  to  that  purpose;  who 
[the  apostles]  keeping  both  that  day  and  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  gave  occasion  to  succeeding  ages  to  join  them 
together,  and  make  it  one  festival,  though  there  was  not 
the  same  reason  for  the  continuance  of  the  custom  as 
there  was  to  begin  it"  r. 

That  the  apostles,  and  even  Christ,  kept  the  Sabbath 
in  the  early  church,  before  the  crucifixion,  no  one  ques- 
tions. The  first  day  of  the  week  would  hardly  have  been 
observed  as  a  sacred  day  prior  to  the  resurrection  of 

p  Andrews'  H'etory  of  the  Sabbath.         g  Coleman's  Ancient 

Christianity  Exemplified,  chap.  26,  see.  2. 

r  Morer's  Dialogues  on  the  Lord's 

Dayi  page  189. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  Ill 

Christ,  for  the  law  embodying  the  Sabbath  did  not  die 
as  a  religious  code,  till  Christ  died,  and  the  new  cove- 
nant, embodying  the  Lord's  day,  did  not  come  into  effect 
till  after  the  death  and  resurrection  of  the  testator  which 
it  was  designed  to  commemorate.  But  there  is  now  the 
unquestioned  evidence  before  us,  that  ^^the  apostles"  and 
' 'primitive  Christians"  did  keep  ''the  first  day  of  the 
week"  sacred  to  "devotion  and  sermons;"  and  this  fact 
Elder  J.  N.  Andrews  admits,  tacitly,  when  he  intro- 
duces these  witnesses  into  the  controversy.  Paul  met 
with  the  Jews  frequently  on  the  Sabbath,  in  his  efforts 
to  convince  them  of  the  Messiahship  of  Christ;  but  we 
have  no  record  of  his  assembling  with  the  disciples — the 
church  only — on  the  seventh  day  for  worship. 

William  Twisse,  D.  D. ,  of  England,  in  his  Morality  of 
the  Fourth  Commandment,  says:  "Yet  for  some  hun- 
dred years  in  the  primitive  church,  not  the  LorcVs  day 
only,  but  the  seventh  day  also,  was  religiously  observed, 
not  by  Ebion  and  Cerenthus  only,  but  by  pious  Chris- 
tians also"  s.  Yes;  and  the  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Jew- 
ish converts  to  perpetuate  the  lata  and  the  Sabbath, 
sowed  the  seeds  of  heresy  in  the  church  in  the  days  of 
the  apostles  that  afterward  developed  the  sects  of  Naza- 
renes,  Ebionites  and  the  Hypsistarii.  Of  the  first  of 
these  Morer  says:  "They  pretended  to  believe  as  Chris- 
tians, yet  they  practiced  as  Jews,  and  so  were  in  reality 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other"  t.  Paul  was  at  war  with 
the  originators  of  those  heresies  during  his  entire  min- 
isterial career,  and  the  church  was  much  disturbed  by 
them.  Even  the  apostles  Peter  and  James  were  infected 
to  a  degree  with  some  of  the  ideas  from  which  those 
sects  were  afterward  developed  and  distinguished  i«. 
With  such  examples — apostolical — we  need  not  be  sur- 
prised to  find  the  superstitions  among  the  converts  after- 

i  Pag-i  9,  London,  1641.       t  Dialogaee,  p.  66. 


112  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

ward  magnifying  those  apostolic  weaknesses.  .  Even 
some  of  the  ministry  among  the  Gentile  churches  went 
off  into  the  error  of  teaching  the  perpetuity  of  the  law 
as  binding  on  the  Christians  in  a  religious  pense.  Of 
them  he  gave  in  charge  to  Timothy:  "As  I  besought  thee 
to  abide  still  at  Ephesus,  when  I  went  into  Macedonia, 
that  thou  might  est  charge  some  that  they  teach  no 
other  doctrine,  neither  give  heed  to  endless  genealogies, 
which  minister  questions  rather  than  godly  edifying 
which  is  in  faith:  so  do.  Now  the  end  of  the  command- 
ment is  charity  out  of  a  pure  heart,  and  of  a  good  con- 
science, and  of  faith  unfeigned;  from  which  some  having 
swerved  have  turned  aside  unto  vain  jangling;  desiring  to 
he  teachers  of  the  law:  understanding  neither  what  they 
say,  nor  whereof  they  affirm.  But  we  know  that  the 
law  is  good,  if  a  man  use  it  lainfidly^  [in  the  hands  of  the 
officers  of  the  civil  government  since  the  introduction  of 
the  gospel,  and  not  in  the  hands  of  the  gospel  ministry], 
knowing  this,  that  the  law  is  not  made  for  a  righteous 
man,  but  for  the  lawless  and  disobedient,  for  the  ungodly 
and  for  sinners,  for  unholy  and  profane,  for  murderers 
of  fathers  and  murderers  of  mothers,  for  manslayers,  for 
whoremongers,  for  them  that  defile  themselves  with 
mankind,  for  menstealers,  for  liars,  for  perjured  persons, 
and  if  there  be  any  other  thing  contrary  to  sound  doc- 
trine; according  to  the  glorious  gospel  of  the  blessed 
God,  which  was  committed  to  my  trust"  v.  These  men 
in  their  endeavor  to  adopt  the  laiv  and  enforce  it  on  the 
Christians  conjointly  with  the  gospel,  had  swerved  from 
the  gospel  requirements  called  by  Paul  here  "the  com- 
mandment." Peter  once  called  "the  way  of  righteous- 
ness" "the  holy  commandment"  w.  And  the  law,  of 
which  they  desired  to  be  teachers,  was  that  which 
embodied  the  decalogue;   that  by  which  liars,  thieves, 

It  Gal.  2:  11, 14,  15 ;  Acts  21: 17-25.         v  1  Tim.  1 :  3-11. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  113 

murderers  and  ^^the  lawless ^^^  were  tried,  condemned  and 
punished;  and  the  only  place  ^^the  law"  could  deal  with 
such  characters,  since  the  introduction  of  the  gospel,  was 
in  the  civil  courts,  and  at  the  hands  of  the  civil  officers. 

It  was  by  these  heretics  that  the  seventh  day,  with 
the  rest  of  the  law,  was  observed  and  perpetuated  in  the 
early  ages  of  the  church, -and  by  later  historians  asso- 
ciated with  "the  primitive  Christians." 

We  have  now  found  by  the  testimony  of  the 
Scriptures  that  the  first  day  of  the  week  was 
kept  as  a  day  of  worship  to  God  by  the  apostles 
and  primitive  Christians,  and  confirmed  by  the 
uncontroverted  testimony  of  the  history;  also  that  the 
first  day  Of  the  week  and  "the  Lord's  day"  were  ident- 
ical and  those  terms  used  interchangeably  from  the  days 
of  John,  A.  D.  96,  to  the  end  of  the  second  century.  Also 
that  the  seventh  day  was  observed  by  the  heretical  sects 
that  arose  through  the  influence  of  false  teachers,  usu- 
ally resulting  in  apostasy  from  the  gospel  of  Christ,  and 
illustrating  the  truth  of  Paul's  statements,  that  "Christ 
is  become  of  no  effect  unto  you,  whosoever  of  you  are 
justified  by  the  law;  ye  are  fallen  from  grace."  "A  little 
leaven  leaveneth  the  whole  lump"  x. 

By  reference  to  Elder  J.  N.  Andrews'  Complete  Testi- 
mony of  the  Fathers,  I  find  he  mentions  the  "seventh 
fragment"  of  the  "Lost  Writings  of  Irenseus,"  preserved 
by  some  writer  to  us  unknown,  and  gives  the  quotation. 
In  the  quotation  the  "unknown  writer"  speaks  of  the 
custom  "of  not  bending  the  knee  upon  Sunday,"  it  being 
"a  symbol  of  the  resurrection,"  and  then  represents 
"the  blessed  Irenaeus,  the  martyr  and  bishop  of  Lyons," 
"in  his  treaties  'On  Easter,'"  as  tracing  the  origin  of 
the  custom  of  not  kneeling  on  Sunday,  to  the  "apostolic 
times,"  also  mentioning  Pentecost,  and  calling  what  the 

w  2  Peter  2:  21.        x  Gal.  5:  4,  9. 
o 


114  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

'^unknown  writer"  calls  Sunday  ^^the  Lord's  day."  Elder 
J.  N.  Andrews  represents  the  **un known  writer"  as 
using  the  terms  ''the  Lord's  day,"  but  the  quotation 
itself  shows  that  the  writer  quotes  it  from  the  treatise 
of  Irenaeus.  It  is  strange  the  Elder  would  do  thus  and 
then  give  the  quotation  of  the  unknown  writer!  y. 

In  his  "History  of  the  Sabbath"  Elder  Andrews,  after 
thrice  quoting  from  Irenaeus  says:  ''These  things  indi- 
cate that  Irenaeus  was  opposed  to  sabbatic  observance." 
Now,  Eusebius,  the  Father  of  church  historians,  and  an 
admitted  authority,  in  his  Ecclesiastical  History  z,  allud- 
ing to  a  controversy  that  occured  in  the  times  of  Irenaeus, 
A.  D.  167-178,  concerning  the  annual  celebration  of 
Christ's  resurrection  called  the  festival  of  the  passover, 
states  that  the  bishops  of  the  different  countries,  of 
whom  Irenaeus  was  one,  decided  "that  the  mystery  of 
our  Lord's  resurrection  should  be  celebrated  on  no 
other  day  than  the  Lord's  day;  and  that  oh  this  day 
alone  we  should  observe  the  paschal  fasts." 

It  is  not  just  nor  fair  to  presume,  as  some  Sabbath  advo- 
cates do,  that  because  Eusebius  lived  and  wrote  after  the 
days  of  Irenasus,  and  that  because  the  first  day  of  the 
week  was  then  known  to  be  called  "the  Lord's  day," 
that  this  learned  historian,  in  recording  the  words  and 
actions  of  those  eminent  men  who  preceded  him,  would 
misrepresent  them  or  commit  a  fraud.  There  is  no  evi- 
dence that  he  so  did  regarding  the  Sabbath,  Pentecost, 
the  Passover,  or  any  other  day.  Eusebius  learned, 
of  those  preceding  him,  that  the  first  day  of  the  week 
was  the  Lord's  day;  and  besides,  he  preserved  the  title 
to  a  work  written  by  Melito  a,  A.  D.  177,  "0^  the  Lord's 
day.'' 

The  testimony  of  Irenaeus  and  Melito  to  the  identity 
of  the  Lord's  day  with  Sunday,  the  Lord's  resurrection 

y  Page  49.   z  Book  5,  chap.  23    a  Book  4,  chap.  26. 


TOE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  115 

day,  precede  that  of  Bardesanes,  Clement,  and  Tertullian, 
from  three  to  twenty-three  years.  But  Irenseus  was 
acquainted  with  Polycarp,  che  friend  and  disciple  of 
John  the  Revelator,  who  first,  by  divine  inspiration, 
■used  the  phrase  the  '  'Lord's  day. "  We  cannot  well  avoid 
the  conclusion,  therefore,  that  that  apostle  was  the 
source  of  Irenseus'  information  respecting  the  identity 
of  the  Lord's  day  with  the  day  of  the  Lord's  resurrection. 
The  apostle  John  is  the  first  person  known  in  all  antiq- 
uity to  haA'^e  used  the  phraseology,  ''the  Lord's  day." 
In  all  his  after  writings  in  the  gospel  and  in  the  Epistles, 
it  is  significant  that  he  never  applied  the  term  "the 
Lord's  day"  to  the  seventh  day — the  Sabbath!  He,  like 
the  Fathers  that  followed  him,  called  it  "the  first  day  of 
the  week,"  and  the  "eighth  day"  from  the  resurrection 
of  his  Lord.  All  history  points  to  John's  Revelation  on 
Patmos  as  the  origin  of  the  appellation,  "the  Lord's  day." 
All  history,  and  the  very  nature  of  the  combination  of 
the  appellation,  unite  in  testifying  that  "the  first  day  of 
the  week" — the  first  day  that  ever  witnessed,  as  an 
accomplished  fact,  the  completeness  of  the  plan  of  eter- 
nal redemption  for  mankind  —  the  day  of  our  Lord's 
resurrection — is  "the  Lord's  day." 

Origen  comes  next  after  Tertullian  in  witnessing  not 
only  to  the  identity  of  "the  first  day  of  the  week"  with 
"the  Lord's  day,"  but  also  to  the  observance  of  the 
Lord's  day  as  a  sacred  day  of  worship  by  the  church  in 
his  times.  He  is  admitted  on  all  sides  to  be  one  of  the 
ablest  churchmen  of  his  times,  and  his  writings  are 
numerous.  He  flourished  about  A.  D.  225.  He  is  sup- 
posed to  have  been  born  in  Egypt,  at  Alexandria.  It  is 
stated  that  he  traveled  extensively  among  the  churches 
and  died  at  Tyre.  He  speaks  of  the  Sabbath  and  the 
Lord's  day,  in  one  place  arraying  them  in  direct  con- 
trast, alleging  that  "the  manna  fell  on  the  Lord's  day, 


116  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

aud  not  on  the  sabbath"  h.  And  in  defense  of  the  church 
practice  against  Celsus  he  says:  ''If  it  be  objected  to  us 
on  this  subject  that  we  are  accustomed  to  observe  cer- 
tain days,  as,  for  example,  the  Lord's  day,  the  Prepara- 
tion, the  Passover,  or  Pentecost,  I  have  to  answer,  that 
to  the  perfect  Christian,  who  is  ever  in  his  thoughts, 
words,  and  deeds,  serving  his  natural  Lord,  God  the 
Word,  all  his  days  are  the  Lord's,  and  he  is  always  keep- 
ing the  Lord's  day"  c.  This  testimony  of  Origen  is 
decisive  as  to  the  belief  and  practice  of  the  church  in  the 
opening  years  of  the  third  century  in  sacredly  observing 
"the  Lord's  day"  as  a  weekly  rest-day,  a  Sabbath. 
Origen's  reference  to  the  daily  practice  of  righteousness 
by  the  Christians,  as  in  contradistinction  to  the  supersti- 
tious idea  of  the  heathens  that  we  ought  to  live  letter 
some  days  than  on  others ^  and  his  judicious  remarks  on  the 
subject,  are  in  harmony  with  Paul's  instructions  to  the 
Romans:  "He  that  regard eth  not  the  day,  to  the  Lord 
he  doth  not  regard  it"  d.  And  like  Paul  he  looked  upon 
the  seventh  day  of  the  creation  as  being  typical  of  the 
final  rest  of  the  people  of  God  e.  And  since  Joshua  was 
unable  to  lead  into  that  rest  the  people  to  whom  this 
rest,  thus  typified  by  God's  rest  on  the  seventh  day,  was 
first  presented,  because  of  their  unbelief,  God  spoke  of 
another  rest  day,  by  the  prophet  David. 

Instead  of  the  Roman  church  being  guilty  of  the 
charge,  so  often  made  by  Sabbath  advocates,  of  gradu- 
ally changing  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  to  the  first 
day,  we  find  the  churches  of  the  east  and  of  Africa 
observing  the  first  day  of  the  week  as  a  day  of  assembl- 
ing for  divine  worship,  from  the  days  of  the  apostles; 
and,  as^  the  witnesses  say,  commemorative  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  our  glorious  Lord  from  the  dead^  and  as  typical  of, 

6  Opera  Tome  2,  p.  158.        c  Book  8,  chap.  22.         d  Rom.  14:  6,  7. 
Book  4,  chap.  31.  e  Heb.  4:  4-10. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  117 

or  looking  forward  to;  that  rest  and  life  that  is  by  the 
Savior's  resurrection  assured. 

As  late  as  the  days  immediately  succeeding  those  of 
Origen,  a  Roman  presbyter,  Novatian  (a.  d.  245-50), 
who  also  is  said  to  be  the  founder  of  the  Cathari  or  Puri- 
tan sect,  is  found  contending  for  the  Sabbath  of  the  law, 
teaching  that  the  giving  of  the  decalogue  at  Sinai  was 
only  a  revival  of  the  ten  commandment  law,  and  trying 
to  wrest  the  law  from  Jewish  superstition.  This  was  at 
Rome!  But  the  result  was  sectism,  as  other  similar 
efforts  had  been.  Novatian  was  no  doubt  an  indirect 
successor  to  those  met  by  the  apostle  Paul  in  his  famous 
argument  to  the  Roman  church,  wherein  he  shows  that, 
to  be  placed  under  obligation  to  keep  the  law  and  the 
gospel  at  the  same  time,  as  a  religious  code,  forced  the 
Christian  into  a  condition  of  spiritual  adultery  I  No  won- 
der those  sects  who  so  teach  finally  die  out  e. 

We  believe  the  foregoing  testimonies,  gathered  from 
the  New  Testament,  the  history  of  the  first  three  cen- 
turies of  the  church  by  Morer,  Twisse  and  Coleman, 
together  with  the  statements  of  the  Fathers,  so  far  pro- 
duced, is  sufficient  to  establish  beyond  successful  dispute 
the  truth  of  the  proposition,  viz., — The  first  day  of  the 
week,  the  Lord's  resurrection  day,  was  the  'day  called  by 
John  the  Revelator  ^^the  Lord's  day,"  and  that,  there- 
fore, it  was  the  day  divinely  appointed  for  the  solemn 
celebration  of  the  worship  of  God  under  the  gospel, 
and  that  the  apostles  and  early  Fathers,  with  the 
church,  so  understood  it,  and  therefore  so  kept  it,  that 
day  also  commemorating  the  glorious  resurrection  of  the 
Lord  and  Savior. 

cKom.7:l-6. 


118 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

DID   THE   POPE  CHANGE   THE   SABBATH? 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  gospel  nowhere  enjoins 
anew  the  observance  of  the  seventh  day  as  a  Sabbath; 
and,  that  Christ  did  not  re-enact  it;  and,  of  the  further 
fact,  that  the  church  as  such  did  not  adopt  its  observ- 
ance, but  only  the  Jewish  converts  at  first  (and  not  all 
of  them),  followed  in  after  times  by  Judaizing  sects;  and, 
further,  from  the  general  historical  fact,  as  we  have 
hitherto  seen,  that  the  church,  with  the  apostles,  at  the 
beginning,  and  right  along  down  the  ages  after,  did 
assemble  for  worship — preaching,  prayer,  reading  the 
Scriptures,  celebrating  the  Lord's  death  by  partaking 
the  Lord's  supper,  and  also  his  resurrection — on  "the 
Lord's  day" — the  question  at  the  head  of  this  division  of 
the  subject  appears  almost  impertinent.  Moreover,  the 
evidence  found  in  the  New  Testament  of  Sabbath  observ- 
ance, so  far  as  the  argument  is  concerned,  is  just  as 
strong  in  favor  of  circumcision  and  other  legal  rites. 
And  yet  further;  we  have  failed  to  find  the  least  iota  of 
evidence  in  either  the  Bible  or  the  writings  of  a  single 
one  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers,  so  far  as  examined, 
that  the  name — "the  Lord's  day" — was  ever  applied  to 
the  seventh-day  Sabbath  of  the  law,  but  mvariahh/,  and 
without  exception,  to  the  first  day  of  the  week.  Eead- 
ers  of  the  Fathers  will  note  this  fact  with  special 
attention. 

But  it  has  been  assumed,  first  by  the  Catholics,  in 
their   Catechism,   and  more  recently   by  Sabbatarians, 

118 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SAD3ATH.  119 

that  the  Pope  of  Eome  changed  the  Sabbath  from  the 
last  to  the  first  day  of  the  week;  and  by  the  latter  it  is 
asserted,  but  totally  without  proof,  that  to  observe  the 
Lord's  day  as  sacred  is  but  observing  an  institution  of 
the  Pope!  This  assumption,  to  be  true,  must  take  for 
granted  that  the  Catholic  Church,  y/ith  a  Pope  at  its 
head,  was  the  church  originally  established  by  Christ, 
and  that  Christ  placed  toithin  the  church  the  authority  to 
annul,  or  change  at  will,  any  divine  law,  ceremony  or 
institution,  at  any  time  it  saw  lit!  These  two  proposi- 
tions must  be  unquestionably  established,  or  the  assump- 
tion is  baseless.  But  there  is  no  way  of  proving  either 
of  these  assumptions  to  be  true,  therefore  the  statement 
that  the  Pope  of  Rome  changed  the  Sabbath  is  false. 
All  history  accords  (backed  by  previously  uttered  and 
divinely  inspired  prophecy),  that  the  Catholic  Church, 
in  its  primal  organization,  was  the  result  of  a  gradual 
and  deceptive  apostasy  from  original  Christianity. 
There  was  no  such  personage  in  the  church,  or  out  of  it, 
as  a  Pope,  with  assumed  powers  of  universal  control 
and  dictatorial,  decretal,  or  other  arrogated  right,  till 
the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century.  Andrews,  in  his 
History  of  the  Sahhath,  says:  "In  the  early  part  of  this 
(sixth)  century,  the  oishop  of  Rome  was  made  head  over 
the  entire  church  by  the  emperor  of  the  east,  Justinian," 
and  Ke'crles'^as* authority  for  the  statement  Shimeall's 
Bible  Chronology/.  But  history,  generally,  places  the 
universal  ascendancy  of  the  Roman  bishop  one  hundred 
year^  later,  when,  (in  A.  D.  606)  Boniface  was  declared 
to  be  "Universal  Bishop." 

But  it  is  urged  that  much  earlier  than  this,  even  in 
the  reign  of  Constantine  (in  a.  d.  321)  that  emperor 
issued  an  edict  to  the  citizens  of  the  Empire  that  Sun- 
day should  be  observed  as  a  day  of  rest  from  secular 

/  Page  369. 


120  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

labor,  and  that  this  wa3  an  all-important  step  in  the 
movement  of  changing  the  Sabbath  of  the  decalogue, 
and  that  the  change,  by  successive  steps  or  stages,  was 
fully  accomplished,  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  church,  by 
an  ecclesiastical  council  held  at  Laodicea  (a.  d.  364),  a 
city  of  Asia  Minor,  and  more  than  one  thousand  miles 
from  Rome.  Let  anyone  read  the  edict  of  Constantine, 
a  copy  of  which  is  given  by  J.  N.  Andrews  in  his  History 
of  the  Sabbath,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  not  one 
word  in  it  having  the  most  distant  reference  to  the 
Sabbath!  ^r.  And,  in  fact,  it  is  now  confessed  in  a  recent 
number  of  the  Advent  Revieiv,  that  ''it  is  safe  to  affirm 
that  there  was  nothing  done  in  the  time  of  Constantine, 
either  by  himself  or  any  other,  that  has  the  least  appear- 
ance of  changing  the  Sabbath"  h.  This  confession  super- 
sedes the  necesSit}^  of  further  argument  in  rebuttal  of 
the  claim  that  Constantine  the  Great  changed  the  Sab- 
bath. -. 

But  >vhat  was  the  result  of  his  edict  with  the  people 
of  the  Empire,  heathen  as  well  as  Christian?  We  will 
let  the  ecclesiastical  historian,  Mosheim,  answer  this 
question:  "The  first  day  of  the  week,  which  was  the 
ordinary  and  stated  time  for  the  public  assemblies  of  the 
Christians,  was,  in  consequence  of  a  peculiar  law  enacted 
by  Constantine,  observed  with  greater  solemnity  than 
it  had  formerly  been"  i.  Constantine's  Sunday  law 
could  have  had  no  special  influence  over  the  Christians, 
who  had  observed  that  day  with  sacred  regard,  as  we 
have  shown  by  Sabbatarian  evidence,  from  the  days  of 
the  apostles,  save  as  a  protection  from  heathen  inter- 
ruption of  religious  services  on  that  day.  According  to 
the  edict  itself,  whatever  veneration  the  people  of  the 
Empire  entertained  for  Sunday,  to  use  the  language  of 

g  Page  342.        h  Number  for  Dec.  13th,  1887,  p.  780.       i  Hist. 
Cent.  4,  part  2,  chap.  4. 


THE  CURISTIAN  SABBATH.  121 

an  able  Sabbatarian,  Elder  and  Editor  Waggoner,  "the 
idea  of  rest  from  worldly  labor  in  its  worship  was 
entirely  new"  j.  By  the  testimony  of  Constantine's 
edict,  then,  and  this  confession  of  Elder  Waggoner,  the 
church  did  not  borrow,  or  in  any  way  derive  the  idea  of 
worship  to  God  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  from  the 
heathens! 

The  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  Article  Sunday,  of  Con- 
stantine's edict,  says:  "Before  him,  and  even  in  his  time, 
they  observed  the  Jewish  Sabbath,  as  well  as  Sunday; 
both  to  satisfy  the  law  of  Moses,  and  to  imitate  the  apos- 
tles tcJio  used  to  meet  together  on  the  first  day  ^  7c.  Elder 
Andrews  calls  this  citation  "a  high  authority."  We 
observe  in  this  connection  that  those  sects  who  adhered 
to  the  law  of  Moses,  did  not  question  for  a  moment  the 
right  or  propriety  of  Lord's  day  observance;  not  an 
instance  of  the  kind  is  found  even  from  the  days  of  the 
apostles.  Those  heretics  recognized  the  first  day  o^  the 
week  as  being  the  Lord's  day. 

Another  writer  of  acknowledged  authority  with  Elder 
Andrews  I  testifies  harmoniously  with  the  last  passage 
cited,  who,  writing  of  the  practice  of  the  church  in  the 
days  of  Pliny,  and  of  Pliny's  statement  concerning  the 
Christians,  says:  "As  the  Sabbath  day  appears  to  have 
been  quite  as  commonly  observed  at  this  date  as  the 
sun^s  day  (if  not  more  so),  it  is  just  as  probable  that  this 
stated  day,  referred  to  by  Pliny,  was  the  seventh  day? 
as  that  it  was  the  first  day;  though  the  latter  is  gener- 
ally taken  for  granted." 

The  "date"  referred  to  here  is  A.  d.  103-104,  only 
seven  to  eight  years  after  John  wrote  the  book  of  Reve- 
lation. It  will  be  remembered  that  after  the  over- 
throw of  Jerusalem,  Asia  Minor  became  the  principal 

j  Advent  Review,  N ov .  '22,  1 8Sr.      ^-  E  d  i  r  i  ) »i    f  1 8  42.      I  Testimony 
of  Fathers,  p.  25.     01)li!j;ati  >r3  of  the  Sabbath,  p.  300. 


122  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

fielu  of  operation  and  settlement  for  the  Christians. 
Also,  large  and  important  settlements  of  Jews  were 
made  in  the  localities  of  the  "seven  churches."  They, 
doubtless,  with  their  zeal  for  the  law,  influenced  the 
Jewish  converts  among  the  churches,  and  some  of  thern^ 
no  doubt,  revered  the  seventh  day,  as  this  writer 
observed.  It  is  evident  that  such  was  the  case,  as  their 
influence  was  demoralizing  on  the  lives  of  some  in  the 
church  at  Smyrna,  and  also  at  Philadelphia.  And  since 
the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  by  the  gospel  only  can  any 
become  Jews  in  factm.  The  Holy  Spirit  denies  their 
claim  to  Abrahamic  descent  by  virtue  of  the  law,  and 
denounces  them  as  being  "the  synagogue  of  Satan." 
And  besides,  there  were  many  in  the  church  in  those 
regions,  ^^ specially  they  of  the  circumcision,^'  who  were 
"unruly  and  vain  talkers  and  deceivers,"  whose  mouths 
it  became  necessary  to  close,  who  for  the  sake  of  money 
subverted  the  faith  of  entire  households  ?2,  hence  the 
sabbatizing  sects  that  began  to  develop  about  that 
"date."  But  this  witness  testifies  that  the  first  day  of 
the  week — the  Lord's  day — was  observed  as  a  day  of 
worship  by  the  Christians  at  the  opening  of  the  second 
century.  No  doubt  the  Jews  joined  the  heathen  in  cast- 
ing the  observers  of  the  Lord's  day  "into  prison,"  to  try 
them. 

From  the  foregoing  it  appears  that  the  first  day  of  "the 
week  had  been  observed  from  the  apostolic  age  as  a  day 
of  worship,  therefore  the  edict  of  Constantine  restrain- 
ing labor  on  "the  venerable  day  of  the  sun,"  on  the  part 
of  the  citizens  of  the  Roman  Government,  had  not  the 
remotest  relation  to  a  change  of  the  Sabbath.  It  would 
have  a  tendency  to  invite  the  attention  of  the  mind  of 
the  Roman  world  to  a  consideration  of  the  basic  fact  of 
the  gospel  of  G-od,  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  from 

m  Rom.  2 :  28,  29.  n  Titus  1 :  10,  11. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  123 

the  dead,  the  weekly  recurrence  of  the  day,  as  one  of  the 
leading  reasons  ivJiy  the  day  should  be  observed,  and 
thence  on  to  the  honor  of  the  Lord  of  the  day,  their 
Savior. 


124 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

''THE  APOSTOLICAL  CONSTITUTIONS." 

This  work  is  cited  by  Elder  J.  N.  Andrews,  in  the 
Complete  Testimony  of  the  Fatliers^  and  their  evidence  to 
the  identity  of  the  first  day  of  the  week  with  the  Lord's 
day,  is  examined,  and  admitted  also  that  "they  were  in 
existence  as  early  as  the  tliird  century,  and  were  then 
very  generally  believed  to  express  the  doctrine  of  the 
apostles.  They  do  therefore  furnish  important  testi- 
mony to  the  practice  of  the  church  at  that  time." 
Mosheim's  notice  of  these  "Constitutions"  is  also  cited 
and  reads:  "The  matter  of  this  work  is  unquestionably 
ancient;  since  the  manners  and  discipline  of  which  it 
exhibits  a  view  are  those  which  prevailed  amongst  the 
Christians  of  the  second  and  tliird  centuries,  especially 
those  resident  in  G-reece  and  the  oriental  regions"  o. 
Also,  the  Historian  Guericke's  reference  to  the  Apostol- 
ical Constitutions  which  says:  "This  is  a  collection  of 
ecclesiastical  statutes  purporting  to  be  the  work  of  the 
apostolic  age,  but  in  reality  formed  gradually  in  the 
second,  third,  and  fourth  ce^ituries,  and  is  of  much  value  in 
reference  to  the  history  of  polity,  and  Christian  archae- 
ology generally"  i>.  Here  we  are  carried  back  to  the  days 
inmiediately  succeeding  those  of  the  apostles,  with 
"important  historical  testimony^'  concerning  the  polity, 
manners,  discipline,  and  archaeology  of  the  church  of 
€hristg.     In  these, -as  in  other  writings  of  the  Ante- 

0  Hist.  Com.  Cen.  1,  sec.  51.       p  Ancient  Ctiurcti,  p.  313. 
q  Complete  Testimony  of  the  Fathers,  p.  13. 

124 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  125 

Nicene  Fathers,  Saturday  is  never  called  the  Lord's  day, 
but  invariably  "sabbath,"  and,  "the  seventh  day."  By 
them  the  Sabbath  is  recognized  as  a  suitable  "fast" 
day. 

Of  the  manner  in  which  the  Lord's  day  was  observed 
in  those  times,  the  "Constitutions"  state  this:  "And  on 
the  day  of  our  Lord's  resurrection,  which  is  the  Lord's 
day,  meet  more  diligently,  sending  praise  to  God  that 
made  the  universe  by  Jesus  and  sent  him  to  us."  This 
testimony,  also,  confirms  that  of  Ignatius,  Barnabas, 
and  others  of  the  second  century,  who  identify  the  Lord's 
day  with  the  first  day  of  the  week:  "Otherwise  what 
apology  will  he  make  to  God  who  does  not  assemble  on 
that  day  to  hear  the  saving  word  concerning  the  resur- 
rection, on  which  we  pray  thrice,  standing,  in  memory 
of  him  who  arose  in  three  days,  in  which  is  performed 
the  reading  of  the  prophets,  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
the  oblation  of  the  sacrifice,  the  gift  of  the  holy  food"  r. 
If  the  churches  of  Asia  had  not  been  taught  that  the 
Lord's  day — so-called  by  the  apostle  John — was  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  and  that  it  was  the  day  on  which  it  was 
designed  that  the  Lord's  supper,  with  other  religious 
services,  were  to  be  observed  weekly,  it  appears  utterly 
unreasonable  that  the  entire  body  of  the  church  could 
have  been  brought  to  accept  so  important  a  change  in 
less  than  half  a  century,  and  that,'  too,  without  valid 
authority. 

That  the  Lord's  supper,  a  memorial  of  our  Lord's 
death,  should  be  celebrated  on  the  Lord's  day,  appears 
consistent  and  harmonious  with  divine  arrangement. 
The  Jews,  under  the  law,  had  a  weekly  and  an  annual 
memorial  of  their  deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt 
— the  seventh  day  of  the  week  and  the  Passover  fes- 
tival s.      Would    it  not   be  strange,    indeed,    that  the 

r  Book  2.  sec.  6,  par.  47.  s  Ex.  13;  Deut.  5:  15. 


126  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

redemption  of  the  world  from  death,  as  assured  by  the 
resurrection,  should  not  be  held  in  sacred  remembrance 
by  those  whose  hope  of  eternal  life  is  founded  on  the 
great  central  fact  of  the  gospel,  God's  power  to  their  sal- 
vation, the  resurrection  of  their  Savior  on  the  Lord's 
day! 

The  technical  quibble  about  the  word  ^^death,"  con- 
nected with  the  observance  of  the  Lord's  supper,  in  com- 
memoration of  the  Savior's  death,  and  that  Friday  would 
be  a  more  appropriate  time  to  celebrate  his  death,  is  a 
very  insignificant  objection  to  Lord's  day  sacredness, 
and  equally  so  as  favoring  seventh-day  observance.  Had 
Paul  used  the  term  "crucifixion"  when  referring  to  this 
subject,  the  matter  might  have  been  different.  Men  ("the 
princes  of  this  world"),  crucified,  killed  "the  Lord  of 
glory;"  but  his  death,  including  his  glorious  release 
therefrom,  perfected  the  act  on  which  the  perfect  faith 
and  hope  in  the  gospel  rests.  '  'It  is  Christ  that  died, 
yea,  rather,  that  is  risen  again."  The  resurrection  of 
Christ  was  the  act  of  God;  therefore  the  celebration  of 
the  Lord's  supper  on  the  Lord's  day  is  rendering  sacred 
homage  to  God,  through  Christ. 

In  the  "Constitutions,"  are  to  be  found  extensive  com- 
mentaries on  the  law,  including  the  decalogue.  But  all 
references  to  them  go  to  show  that  the  writers  under- 
stood that  whatever  degree  of  morality  was  found  in  the 
law  was  embraced  in  the  gospel,  and  that  as  a  religious 
guide  the  gospel,  therefore,  is  all  sufficient  for  the  dis- 
ciples of  Christ;  also  that  the  law  was  given  to  the  Jews 
as  a  nation,  and  pertained  to  them  as  such.  On  this 
point  we  quote:  "Thou  didst  give  them  the  law  or  deca- 
logue, which  was  pronounced  by  thy  voice  and  written 
with  thy  hand.  Thou  didst  enjoin  the  observation  of  the 
sabbath,  not  affording  an  occasion  of  idleness,"  etc. 
J3ut  of  Christ's  resurrection,  and  since,  the  same  writer 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  127 

says,  ^'on  which  account  we  solemnly  assemble  to  cele- 
brate the  feast  of  the  resurrection  on  the  Lord's  day." 
Notice,  that  the  writer  says  "they,"  the  Jews,  received 
the  law;  to  "them"  the  Sabbath  was  given.  But  of  the 
Christians,  —  "i^e  solemnly  assemble"  ...  "on  the 
Lord's  day."  By  the  "Apostolical  Constitutions"  we 
are  borne  out  in  the  position  that,  during  the  second  and 
third  centuries  "the  first  day  of  the  week"  was  known 
as  "The  Lord's  day,"  and  for  that  reason  observed  for 
the  solemn  celebration  of  public  worship  of  the  Lord. 
This  work  shows  "the  manners  and  discipline  of" 
the  Christians  "resident  in  .Greece  and  the  oriental 
regions,"  and  therefore  the  charge  that  the  Bishop  of 
Rome  changed  the  Sabbath  from  the  seventh  to  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  does  not  hold  good.  If  there  was  a 
change  of  the  day  at  all  after  the  days  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment writers,  all  the  evidence  points  to  the  churches  of 
the  East,  and  to  the  time  of  John  the  Revelator;  and 
then,  if  any  change  could  be  shown,  at  the  very  utmost  it 
is  only  in  the  fact  that  the  divinely  inspired  name  of  "the 
Lord's  day"  was  applied  to  the  day  of  Christ's  resurrec- 
tion— the  first  day  of  the  week.  John,  in  lonely  exile  on 
Patmos,  was  keeping  "Lord's  day,"  with  the  seven 
churches  of  Asia,  and  his  Lord  met  with  him  and  opened 
to  him  the  mysterious  vail  of  the  coming  ages,  giving 
him  a  view  of  the  future  works  of  God  and  men,  includ- 
ing the  fortunes  of  the  church,  in  outline,  down  to  the 
close  of  the  Millennium,  and  further. 

Now,  having  adduced  the  testimony  of  the  Ante- 
Nicene  Fathers,  also  that  of  Origen,  and  some  of  the 
evidences  of  the  "Apostolical  Constitutions,"  in  proof  of 
the  indentity  of  the  Lord's  day  with  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  showing  that  it  was  the  universal  practice  of  the 
Christian  churches  to  assemble  on  that  day  for  the  wor- 
ship of  God,  celebrating  the  Lord's  supper  on  the  Lord's 


128  THE  CI1K16TIAN  SABBATH. 

day,  at  the  same  time  commemorating  the  Lord's  glori- 
our  resurrection;  and  having  failed  to  find  any  evidence, 
so  far,  to  sustain  the  assertion  that  the  Sabbath  began 
to  pass  through  a  change  at  the  hands  of  Constantine 
the  Great,  a.  d.  321,  at  the  Council  of  Nice,  we  might 
now  proceed  to  array  the  evidence  of  witnesses  later 
along,  including  that  of  Anatolius,  Bishop  of  Laodicea, 
in  Asia,  A.  D.  270,  and  of  Peter,  Bishop  of  Alexandria, 
Egypt,  A.  D.  306,  with  others;  but  further  testimony  here 
is  not  essential  to  our  proposition,  it  not  being  denied 
since  then  to  the  present  time  that  the  first  day  of  the 
week  is  the  Lord's  day. 

But  it  has  been  asserted  that."Eusebius,  the  special 
friend  and  flatterer  of  Constantine,  was  the  first  man  to 
put  forth  this  doctrine"  of  the  change  of  the  Sabbath. 
But  what  does  Eusebius  say  touching  this  subject  of  the 
Sabbath  and  the  Jews?  "Wherefore  as  they  rejected  it, 
[the  Word,  Christ],  by  the  new  covenant,  translated  and 
transferred  the  feast  o/the  sabbath  to  the  morning  light, 
and  gave  us  the  symbol  of  true  rest,  viz.,  the  saving 
Lord's  day"  t.  The  transfer  of  "^Ae  feast  of  the  sahhath,'' 
hy  Christy  in  "the  new  covenant,"  was  simply  the  repe- 
tition, in  substance,  of  Paul,  as  follows:  "Purge  out  there- 
fore the  old  leaven,  that  ye  may  be  a  new  lump,  as  ye  are 
unleavened.  For  even  Christ  our  passover  is  sacrificed 
for  us:  Therefore  let  us  keep  the  feast,  [Margin,  holy- 
day]  not  with  old  leaven  [systems  of  doctrine,  or  leaven 
of  the  Pharisees] ,  neither  with  the  leaven  of  malice  and 
wickedness;  but  with  the  unleavened  bread  of  sincerity 
and  truth"  u. 

We  have  already  learned  that  the  churches  of  Corinth, 
Galatia  and  Troas,  kept  the  feast  of  the  holy  day  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  and  that,  too,  by  apostolic  instruc- 

t  Eupeb.  Com.  on  the  Psalms.        t*  1  Cor.  5:  7,  8. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  129 

tion  and  divine  command  v,  Eusebius,  then,  was  seek- 
ing to  maintain  the  sanctity  of  the  Lord's  day,  as  a  day 
of  worship  under  the  Christian  covenant,  and  to  so 
impress  the  public  Koman  citizenship,  and  stand  by  apos- 
tolic practice. 

Again,  complaint  is  made  by  Sabbatarians  that  the 
Fathers  and  other  writers  of  the  primitive  church  do 
not  attach  Sabbath  sanctity  to  the  resurrection  day  of  our 
Lord.  And,  for  the  very  best  of  reasons,  for  there  is 
not  an  iota  of  evidence  that  anyone  connected  with  the 
church  in  those  times,  whatever  their  views  may  have 
been  regarding  the  sanctity  of  other  days  of  the  week, 
ever  questioned  the  sanctity  of  the  Lord's  day,  or  the 
propriety  of  assembling  for  worship  on  that  day.  After 
Jesus  religiously  washed  the  disciples'  feet,  no  Christian 
questioned  the  sanctity  of  the  ordinance  or  act.  Since 
Jesus  ate  the  Lord's  supper,  no  professed  follower  of 
Christ,  except  the  most  extreme  spiritualizer  of  God's 
word,  pretends  to  call  in  question  the  sanctity  of  the 
Lord's  supper.  During  the  time  of  ''The  Fathers," 
the  question  in  controversy  was  urged  only  by  heretics^ 
and  about  the  seventh-day  sanctity.      This  is  the  fact. 

In  looking  for  the  time  and  place  where  the  alleged 
change  of  the  Sabbath  was  finally  effected  and  com- 
pleted, the  Council  of  Laodicea,  held  in  a.  d.  364,  was 
when  and  where  the  change  was  wrought.  The  Council 
of  Laodicea,  in  Asia,  was  not  a  Catholic-general-council. 
It  was  a  council  composed  of  about  ''thirty-two  bishops" 
.  .  .  "from  different  provinces  in  Asia"  w.  It  was  rather 
a  local  council.  Leberius,  bishop  of  Rome,  at  this  date 
was  deposed  and  exiled.  And  that  he  might  be  released 
from  degradation,  he  "wrote  in  a  most  submissive  and 
cringing  style  to  the  eastern  bishops"  x.      He  was  not 

t>Acte20:  1-7;  1  Cor.  16:  1,2;  14:  37.        w  McClintock  &  8Uon«'i 
Cyclopodia.       »  Bower's  Hist,  of  the  Popes. 


130  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABDATil. 

represented  at  that  council,  either  personally  or  by 
proxy.  How  this  bishop,  under  these  circumstances, 
could  change  the  Sabbath,  is  a  mystery.  Surely,  if  he 
did,  the  days  of  miracles  had  not  yet  ended! 

This  council  is  barely  noticed  by  some  historians,  and 
by  some  not  mentioned  at  all,  as  reference  to  them  at 
this  date  will  abundantly  show.  But  what  did  this  little 
council  do?  It  simply  took  measures  to  meet  the 
encroachments  of  the  judaizing  heretics  who  were  becom- 
ing somewhat  aggressive  in  the  vicinities  of  Laodicea 
and  maintaining  that  the  Sabbath  of  the  law  was  equally 
prominent  with  the  Lord's  day.  I  have  failed  to  find 
any  evidence  that  the  church  of  Rome  had  anything, 
whatever,  to  do  with  the  Council  of  Laodicea.  More- 
over, at  this  time  (a.  d.  364),  the  bishops  of  Rome  had  no 
jurisdiction  over  other  bishops,  nor  were  superior  to 
them.  In  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  then,  the  Sabbath 
could  not  have  been  changed  by  the  church  of  Rome  or 
its  bishop  at  the  Council  of  Laodicea.  Anatolius  was 
bishop  of  the  church  of  Laodicea,  in  a.  d.  270,  as  we  have 
seen.  In  one  of  his  canons  (also  cited  by  Elder  J.  N. 
Andrews),  he  says:  "The  solemn  festival  of  the  resurrec- 
tion of  the  Lord  can  be  celebrated  only  on  the  Lord' s 
day'  y. 

The  Laodicean  church  was  one  of  the  '  'seven  churches 
of  Asia,"  beloved  of  God  at  the  time  of  the  writing  of 
John's  Revelation,  and  the  subject  of  God's  counsel  and 
severe  chastisement  through  John  z.  It  was  known  to, 
and  perhaps  founded  by,  the  apostle  Paul  a,  and,  like  the 
churches  of  Corinth  and  Galatia,  no  doubt,  was  taught 
to  observe  "the  first  day  of  the  week"  as  a  day  of  wor- 
ship and  celebration  of  the  Lord's  supper.  And  having 
the  writings  of  John,  it  could  not  have  failed  to  learn  of 

y  Complete  Testimony,  p.  94,  lOLh  Canon.        z  Rey.  3:  19. 
«  Col.  4:16. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  131 

him  that  that  day  was  ''the  Lord's  day."  In  this  church 
was  aline  of  succession  tracing  "the  Lord's  day"  direct 
to  John  the  Kevelator,  who  first  gave  that  inspired  name 
to  the  day  of  Christ's  resurrection,  and,  for  the  Council 
of  Laodicea  to  pass  resolutions  in  honor  of,  and  to 
express  a  determination  to  continue  its  observance,  as  a 
day  of  sacred  worship  to  God  through  Christ,  who  was 
raised  from  the  dead  on  that  day,  was  reasonable,  but  it 
was  not  to  change  the  Sabbath. 

Therefore,  as  no  time  and  place  has  yet  been  found 
where  the  Pope  of  Rome,  or  the  Catholic  Church,  changed 
the  Sabbath;  and  since  there  was  no  Pope  known  in  the 
world  in  A.  D.  364,  the  claim  that  he  changed  the  Sabbath, 
at  any  time,  is  baseless. 

From  the  days  of  the  apostles,  and  during  the  times 
of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers,  the  periods  of  the  councils 
herein  referred  to,  and,  in  fact,  all  along  the  ages  since 
to  the  present  time,  there  has  been  sabbatizing,  hereti- 
cal sects,  and  their  reasons  for  Sabbath  observance  have 
been  substantially  the  arguments  urged  for  it  by  Sabba- 
tarians at  the  present.  Says  Elder  Andrews,  "In  1607, 
an  English  first-day  writer,  John  Sprint,  gave  the  views 
of  the  Sabbath-keepers  of  that  time,  which  in  truth  have 
been  substantially  the  same  in  all  ages"  6. 

CONCLUSION. 

Paul,  the  great  apostle  of  Jesus  to  the  Gentiles,  with 
the  Gentile  churches  of  his  time,  kept  holy  the  first  day 
of  the  week,  the  day  of  Christ's  resurrection,  esteeming 
it  as  the  proper  day  for  celebrating  the  Lord's  supper, 
the  day  called  by  John  afterward  "the  Lord's  day." 
Paul  honored  it  as  by  divine  appointment  for  solemn 
assembly,  for  preaching  the  word  of  God,  for  prayer,  for 
the  breaking  of  bread,  for  charity  and  for  the  reinem- 

tHiet.  of  the  Sab.,  p.  480. 


132  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

brance  of  the  poor  c.  And  then  this  apostle  and  faith- 
ful witness  of  Christ  wrote  to  the  Corinthians,  and  to 
'^all  that  in  every  place  call  on  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ," 
saying,  "Be  ye  followers  of  me,  even  as  I  am  of  Christ" 
d.  And  Christ,  as  we  have  seen,  met  with  his  disciples, 
when  the  new  covenant  became  of  force,  on  the  day 
when  he,  ^^ according  to  the  Scriptures,'''  arose  from  the 
dead,  "the  third  day"  from  the  crucifixion  day,  the  first 
day  of  the  week,  and  also  on  the  eighth  day  from  the  day 
of  his  resurrection.  Yes;  Jesus  set  the  example  after- 
ward followed  by  the  apostles,  disciples,  and  Paul.  He 
assembled  with  his  disciples  the  evening  of  the  same 
day  of  his  glorious  resurrection  from  the  dark,  mysteri- 
ous land  of  death,  and  renewed  the  hope  of  life  in  their 
hearts.  And  though  they  "shut  the  door  for  fear  of 
the  Jews,"  they  nevertheless  assembled'  that  day,  when 
they  might,  with  greater  safety,  have  waited  till  the 
Sabbath.  But  they  omitted  to  assemble  the  Sabbath 
following,  because  Jesus  had  evidently  arranged  to  meet 
with  them  again  on  the  following  first  day  of  the  week, 
to  strengthen  their  faith,  and  instruct  them  in  the 
things  of  "the  kingdom  of  God"  e.  Meetings,  after  this, 
were  in  Galilee,  as  previously  arranged  and  ' 'appointed'' 
by  the  Lord/.  In  fact,  all  the  circumstances  connected 
with  these  first-day  meetings  of  Christ  with  his  disciples 
appear  to  favor  the  idea  that  they  were  all  held  in 
accordance  with  previous  appointment.  Had  the  Savior 
washed  the  disciples'  feet  as  often  as  he  met  with  his 
disciples  for  worship  on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  after 
his  resurrection,  who,  among  the  followers  of  Christ, 
would  not  have  accepted  it  as  of  perpetual  obligation, 
and  as  a  divine  institution?    Especially  since,  during  a 

•  1  Cor.  14:37;  16:1,2;  Act».»0:  1-7.      rfl  Cor.  11:1.      «AcUl:3; 
John  30:  36.       /  Matt.  98:  7,  16. 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  133 

forty-days  sojourn  with  them,  not  a  seventh-day  meeting 
was  held,  so  far  as  the  record  shows. 

With  all  this  array  of  evidence,  including  the  example 
of  Christ  and  the  apostles  and  the  church  during  the 
days  of  her  ancient  glory  and  inspiration,  with  the  divine 
teachings  of  the  authorized  ministry  of  our  Lord,  all 
honoring  the  great  day  of  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord,  ^Hhe 
Lord's  day^''  that  day  that  brings  to  the  mind  of  all 
nations  once  every  seven  days  wherever  the  gospel  is 
proclaimed  the  Savior,  not  only  as  the  ' 'Everlasting 
Father,"  the  Creator  of  all  things  ^'visible  and  invisible," 
but  as  a  Savior,  Redeemer  and  Lord  of  the  redeemed  and 
glorified  through  the  gospel,  which  is  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation,  may  we  not  with  all  confidence  conclude 
that  the  notable  day  of  Christ's  resurrection,  "the 
Lord's  day,"  is  "the  Christian  Sabbath,  or  weekly  rest- 
day,"  in  deed  and  in  truth! 

Observation. — I  have  followed  the  lead  of  Elder  J.  N. 
Andrews  in  examination  of  some  of  the  evidences  cited 
or  used  by  him  in  the  second  division  of  the  subject, 
because  he  is  considered  by  many,  to  be  one  of  the 
ablest,  if  not  the  very  ablest  Sabbath  advocate  in  the 
United  States  at  the  present  tim©. 

0.  Scott. 


134 


CHAPTER     XV. 

'    THE    ORIGINAL    WORDS. 

As  a  fitting  conclusion  to  the  foregoing  work,  we  now 
produce  undeniable  proof  that,  after  the  crucifixion  of 
Christ,  the  first  day  of  the  week  was  known  and  denom- 
inated by  the  Chrstians  of  those  times  as  their  Sabbath 
— a  day  of  rest  and  worship.  The  first  proof-texts  we 
present  are  from  ''Young's  Bible  Translation,"  a  work 
claiming  to  be  ''a  strictly  literal  and  idiomatic  render- 
ing of  the  Original  Hebrew  and  Greek  Texts."  The 
scholarship  of  this  translator  is  above  question,  for  he 
stands  endorsed  by  the  leading  Hebrew  and  Greek 
scholars  of  our  times.  His  Analytical  Concordance  of  the 
Bible,  his  Hebrew  and  Greek  Lexicons^  and  his  other  popu- 
lar works,  as  well  as  his  Bible  Translation^  place  him  in 
the  very  front  rank  of  Hebrew  and  Greek  scholars.  The 
following  is  his  literal  rendering  of  Matthew  28:  1,  from 
the  original  text  as  penned  by  its  author:  "And  on  the 
eve  of  the  Sabbaths,  at  the  dawn,  toward  the  first  of  the 
Sabbaths,  came  Mary  the  Magdalene,  and  the  other 
Mary,  to  see  the  sepulchre." 

Mark  16:  1  and  9  he  renders  thus:  "And  the  Sabbath 
[Jewish  Sabbath. — Ed.]  having  past,  Mary  the  Magda- 
lene, and  Mar}^  of  James,  and  Salome,  bought  spices,  that 
having  come,  they  may  anoint  him,  and  early  in  the 
morning  of  the  first  of  the  Sabbaths  [under  the  New 
Covenant  dispensation. — Ed.],  they  come  unto  the  sepul- 
chre, at  the  rising  of  the  sun.  .  .  .  And  he,  having  risen 
in  the  morning  of  the  first  of  the  Sabbaths,  did  appear 

134 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  135 

first  to  Mary  the  Magdalene,  out  of  whom  he  had  cast 
seven  demons." 

Luke  24:  1  he  gives  in  these  words:  "And  on  the  first 
of  the  Sabbaths,  at  early  dawn,  they  came  to  the  tomb, 
bearing  the  spices  they  made  ready,  and  certain  others 
with  them." 

John  20:1  he  gives  as  follows :  '  'And  on  the  first  of 
the  Sabbaths,  Mary  the  Magdalene  doth  come  early 
(there  being  yet  darkness)  to  the  tomb."  And  verse  19 
thus:  "It  being,  therefore,  evening,  on  that  day,  the 
first  of  the  Sabbaths,  and  the  doors  having  been  shut 
where  the  disciples  were  assembled,  through  fear  of  the 
Jews,  Jesus  came  and  stood  in  the  midst,  and  saith  to 
them,  'Peace  to  you;'  and  this  having  said,  he  showed 
them  his  hands  and  side;  the  disciples,  therefore,  rejoiced, 
having  seen  the  Lord." 

Mark  it  well, — these  texts  are  from  the  original  Greek, 
being  transferred  into  the  English  language  after  an 
exact,  literal  manner.  Now  by  these  testimonies  we 
learn  that  the  first  Christian  writers,  and  the  first  apos- 
tles, held  and  taught  that,  after  the  crucifixion  of  our 
Lord,  the  first  day  of  the  week  was,  and  was  to  be,  the 
Christians'  Sabbath — their  appointed  day  for  rest  and 
worship. 

The  phrase,  "The  first  of  the  Sabbaths,"  may  be  readily 
understood  as  meaning  the  first  of  the  Sahhaths  under  the 
New  Covenant  order,  that  order  which  was  fully  estab- 
lished by  the  death  and  resurrection  of  the  Christ.  In- 
deed, it  seems  quite  impossible  for  the  phrase  to  have 
any  other  meaning. 

That  Young's  translation  of  the  foregoing  texts  is  the 
exactly  correct  one,  may  be  seen  by  consulting  the  same 
texts  in  the  Greek  as  found  in  Wilson's  or  Griesbach's 
Emphatic  Diaglott,  or  in  any  Greek  New  Testament, 
for  there  we  find  that  the  Greek  word  Sahhaton  is  the 


136  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

same  as  the  Englirh  word  Sabbath,  and  that  it  occurs  as 
in  the  texts  quoted  from  Young's  Translation  as  before 
shown. 

In  the  German  New  Testament,  Matt.  28:  1  (trans- 
lated literally  from  the  Greek),  when  rendered  in  the 
English,  reads,  —  ^'First  holy  day  of  the  Sabbaths;" 
Mark  16:  9  reads,— ''first  day  of  the  Sabbaths;"  Luke 
24:  1  reads, — "one  of  the  Sabbaths;"  John  20:  1  reads, — 
''one  of  the  Sabbaths,"  and  verse  19  reads, — "in  the 
evening  of  the  same  Sabbath,"  while  Acts  20:  7  reads, 
"upon  one  of  the  Sabbaths,"  and  1  Cor.  16:  2  reads, — 
^'on  each  of  the  Sabbaths."  By  these  texts  we  see  that 
this  German  translation  is  in  essential  harmony  with  the 
translations  before  quoted  and  cited,  all  proving  that,  in 
the  original  Greek  texts,  what  is  rendered  "the  first  day 
of  the  week,"  in  the  Authorized  Version,  and  similar 
versions,  is  there  rendered  "the  first  of  the  Sabbaths," 
etc.,  etc. 

Jesus,  after  his  resurrection,  commanded  his  apostles 
and  said,  "Go  ye  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  bap- 
tizing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost;  teaching  them  to  ohserve  all  things 
whatsoever  I  have  commanded  youf  and  he  had  also  said  to 
them,  "When  he,  the  Spirit  of  truth,  is  come,  he  will 
guide  you  into  all  truth;"  therefore  we  conclude  that, 
whatever  the  apostles  observed,  and  by  their  writings 
and  examples  taught  others  to  observe,  these  are  among 
the  "all  things"  which  Jesus  commanded  them.  Conse- 
quently, when  we  find  the  apostles  and  the  primitive 
Christians  writing  of  the  first  day  of  the  week,  after  the 
resurrection  of  Christ,  and  calling  it  "the  first  of  the 
Sabbaths"  and  also  observing  that  day,  particularly,  as 
their  day  of  rest  and  worship,  it  is  evident  that  Christ 
had  so  instructed  and  commanded  them. 

We  further  add  that,  there  is  not  one  text  in  the  New 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH.  137 

Testament,  after  the  cross,  commanding  in  any  way  the 
Saints  to  keep  the  seventh-day  Sabbath.  There  is  not 
one  text  in  it  forbidding  labor  on  that  day  after  the  cru- 
cifixion and  resurrection  of  Christ;  neither  is  there  one 
text  commanding  that  day  as  a  day  of  public  worship. 
There  is  not  one  text  in  it  that  proves  the  seventh  day 
to  have  been  set  apart  for  the  church,  as  such,  for  rest 
and  public  worship.  There  is  not  a  text  in  it  proving 
that  the  Christians  did  not  abstain  from  labor  on  the 
first  day  of  the  week.  There  is  not  one  text  in  it  com- 
manding that,  after  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  the  min- 
istry were  to  teach  or  preach  the  law  given  at  Sinai,  nor 
the  Sabbath  of  the  fourth  commandment.  There  is  not 
one  text  in  the  Bible  proving  that  the  seventh  day  was 
ever  commanded  of  God,  or  kept  by  man,  from  tLe  cre- 
ation to  the  exodus  from  Egypt.  There  is  not  one  text 
in  the  Bible,  nor  one  item  of  history,  proving  that  any 
other  than  the  first  day  of  the  week  is  called  the  "Lord's 
day."  There  is  not  one  conclusive  item  in  ancient  church 
history  proving  that  the  Church  of  Christ,  as  such, 
abstained  from  labor  on  the  seventh  day,  and  observed 
that  day  as  a  day  of  worship.  Nor  is  there  conclusive 
proof  in  such  history  that  Christ's  Church,  as  such,  ever 
observed  any  other  day  as  a  day  of  public  worship  or 
weekly  Sabbath  except  the  first  day  of  the  week.  Neither 
is  there  valid  historic  proof  that  Christ's  Church  per- 
formed common  labor  on  the  first  day  of  the  week  and 
did  not  hold  their  regular  weekly  assemblies  for  worship 
on  that  day. 

Now  in  view  of  all  the  facts  hereinbefore  presented, 
it  is  clear  that  the  seventh  day  was  first  set  apart  for 
rest  and  public  worship  at  Sinai,  and  pertained  alone  to 
Israel  and  Israelitish  proselytes,  and,  by  the  will  of  G-od 
and  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  terminated 
at  the  cross.     And  it  is  further  evident  that,  from  the 


138  THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATH. 

resurrection  of  our  Lord,  the  first  day  of  the  week,  by 
the  will  and  commandment  of  God  through  Christ,  was 
ordained  and  set  apart  to  and  for  his  people  for  rest  and 
public  worship  and  as  the  memorial  day  of  the  new  cove- 
nant and  new  creation  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Schaff,  "History  Christian  Church,"  pp.  478-9,  says: 
"The  first  day  was  already  in  the  apostolic  age  honor- 
ably designated  as  'the  Lord's  Day.'  On  that  day  Paul 
met  with  the  disciples  at  Troas  and  preached  till  mid- 
night. On  that  day  he  ordered  the  Galatian  and  Corin- 
thian Christians  to  make,  no  doubt  in  connection  with 
divine  service,  their  weekly  contributions  to  charitable 
objects  according  to  their  ability.  It  appears,  therefore, 
from  the  New  Testament  itself,  that  Sunday  was 
observed  as  a  day  of  worship,  and  in  special  commemo- 
ration of  the  resurrection,  whereby  the  work  of  redemp- 
tion was  finished. 

"The  universal  and  uncontradicted  Sunday  observance 
in  the  second  century  can  only  be  explained  by  the  fact 
that  it  had  root  in  apostolic  practice.  Such  observance 
is  the  more  to  be  appreciated  as  it  had  no  support  in 
civil  legislation  before  the  age  of  Constantine  [a.  d.  306- 
337. — Ed.],  and  must  have  been  connected  with  many 
inconveniences,  considering  the  lowly  social  condition 
of  the  majority  of  Christians  and  their  dependence 
upon  their  heathen  masters  and  employers.  .  .  . 
Besides  the  Christian  Sunday,  the  Jewish  Christians 
observed  their  ancient  Sabbath  also,  till  Jerusalem 
was  destroyed.  After  that  event,  the  Jewish  habit 
continued  only  among  the  Ebionites  and  Naza- 
renes." 

In  Fisher's  "History  Christian  Church,"  p.  64,  we  find 
the  following:  "The  Jewish  Christians,  who  were  fol- 
lowed by  the  oriental  churches,  not  only  observed  Sun- 


THE  CHRISTIAN  SABBATPI.  439 

day  but  Saturday  also.  The  Roman  Christians,  on  the 
contrary,  fasted  on  Saturday." 

We  close  with  the  following  from  Smith's  Dictionary, 
Bible,  Article  Lord's  Day:  "The  results  of  our  examin- 
ation of  the  principal  writers  of  the  two  centu- 
ries after  the  death  of  St.  John  are  as  follows: 
The  Lord's  Day  (a  name  which  has  now  come  out 
more  prominently,  and  is  connected  more  explicitly 
with  our  Lord's  resurrection  than  before)  existed 
during  these  two  centuries  as  a  part  and  parcel  of 
apostolical  and  so  of  Scriptural  Christianity.  It  was 
never  defended;  for  it  was  never  impugned,  or  at  least 
only  impugned  as  other  things  received  from  the  apostles 
were.  It  was  never  confounded  with  the  Sabbath,  but 
carefully  distinguished  from  it.  .  .  .  It  was  not  a  day  of 
severe  Sabbatical  character,  but  a  day  of  joy  and  cheer- 
fulness, rather  encouraging  than  forbidding  relaxation. 
Religiously  regarded,  it  was  a  day  of  solemn  meeting 
for  the  Holy  Eucharist,  for  united  prayer,  for  instruc- 
tion, for  alms-giving." 

In  this  book  is  presented  an  amount  of  evidence  that 
is  simply  overwhelming,  and  such  kinds  of  proof  as  are 
quite  irrefutable,  and  as  such  we  commit  the  work  to 
the  candid  judgment  of  all  who  will  examine  its  pages. 

W.  W.  Blair. 


1 


